What Is Mirin? How to Use This Essential Japanese Seasoning

From glossy teriyaki to comforting Japanese simmered dishes, mirin is one of the seasonings that helps create the sweet-savoury balance associated with Japanese home cooking.

But if you shop for Japanese ingredients in the UK, the labels can be confusing. You may find bottles marked mirin, hon mirin, mirin seasoning or Honteri – and they are not necessarily the same product.

Mirin is a Japanese seasoning used to add gentle sweetness, depth and an attractive gloss to food. Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) also identifies other traditional cooking effects, including helping seasoning penetrate ingredients, helping foods hold their shape during simmering and reducing unwanted odours.

Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan (MAFF), Traditional Foods of Japan. View the MAFF source

In this guide, we explain what mirin is, what mirin is made of, hon mirin vs Honteri, mirin vs sake, mirin vs rice vinegar, how to use mirin and what you can use as a substitute for mirin.

■ What Is Mirin?

Mirin is a traditional Japanese seasoning valued for its gentle sweetness, depth of flavour and ability to add gloss and shine to cooked food.

According to MAFF, traditional mirin is made using rice koji, steamed glutinous rice and a distilled spirit such as shochu. Historically, mirin was consumed as a sweet alcoholic drink, but it gradually became established as a cooking seasoning during the Edo period.

Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan (MAFF). Read about mirin in MAFF’s Traditional Foods of Japan

Today, mirin is used in teriyaki, nimono or Japanese simmered dishes, meat and fish dishes, noodle sauces, donburi sauces, dipping sauces and glazes.

You may also see mirin described in English as “sweet rice wine”, which explains searches such as “mirin rice wine”. That description is useful as a starting point for traditional alcoholic mirin, but it can be misleading if applied to every product labelled mirin. Very low-alcohol mirin-style seasonings also exist, so checking the individual bottle is important.

■ What Is Mirin Made Of?

Traditional mirin is made using rice, rice koji and alcohol such as shochu.

MAFF explains that steamed glutinous rice and rice koji are combined with a distilled spirit. Japan’s National Tax Agency describes a traditional mirin-making period of around 40 to 60 days, during which koji enzymes transform rice starch and protein into sugars, amino acids and other components that contribute to mirin’s distinctive flavour.

Sources: MAFF and the National Tax Agency of Japan. View the MAFF source or view the National Tax Agency document.

However, mirin ingredients vary by product. Hon mirin, mirin seasoning and mirin-style seasoning can have different formulations and very different alcohol levels.

The National Tax Agency distinguishes mirin-style seasoning from alcoholic mirin and notes that mirin-style seasoning contains less than 1% alcohol under the Japanese classification.

Source: National Tax Agency of Japan. View the official document

■ Hon Mirin vs Honteri vs Mirin Seasoning

Hon mirin, Honteri and mirin seasoning are related cooking products, but they are not identical. Understanding this difference makes it much easier to choose a bottle for Japanese cooking.

What Is Hon Mirin?

Hon mirin is traditional alcoholic mirin. Under Japan’s Liquor Tax Act, mirin is a separate alcoholic beverage category made using ingredients including rice, rice koji and shochu or alcohol.

For example, Takara Hon Mirin 300ml sold by Yutaka Shop Online contains 13.6% ABV. Its listed ingredients are water, glutinous rice, rice koji, distilled alcohol and glucose syrup.

What Is Honteri?

Honteri is a mirin-style seasoning rather than hon mirin. The Mizkan Honteri sold by Yutaka Shop Online contains 0.12% alcohol, making it very different from Takara Hon Mirin at 13.6% ABV.

Its listed ingredients include glucose syrup, water, spirit vinegar, fermented rice alcohol, sugar, citric acid and cane molasses.

What Is Mirin Seasoning?

Mirin seasoning is a cooking seasoning intended to provide mirin-like sweetness, balance and gloss. The exact recipe varies by brand, so it should not automatically be treated as the same product as hon mirin.

Yutaka Mirin Sweet Rice Seasoning 150ml contains glucose syrup, water, fermented rice alcohol, sugar, spirit vinegar, citric acid and cane molasses. It is designed for cooking and can be used in dishes such as simmered vegetables, simmered fish, braised pork belly and noodle soup bases.

■ What Does Mirin Taste Like?

Mirin has a gentle, rounded sweetness that works particularly well with savoury Japanese seasonings such as soy sauce.

Traditional mirin develops more than sweetness alone. During maturation, koji enzymes convert components of the rice into sugars, amino acids and other substances that contribute to its characteristic flavour.

Source: National Tax Agency of Japan. View the National Tax Agency source

This is why mirin is best thought of as a seasoning that helps balance and finish a dish, rather than simply a liquid sweetener.

■ Mirin vs Sake vs Rice Vinegar

Mirin, sake and rice vinegar are all familiar Japanese ingredients, but they play very different roles in cooking.

Mirin vs Sake: What’s the Difference?

Mirin and sake are different products and are often used together rather than interchangeably. The National Tax Agency defines sake primarily as a fermented product based on rice, rice koji and water, while mirin is classified separately and uses rice and rice koji with shochu or alcohol.

Source: National Tax Agency of Japan. View the official alcohol classification and mirin information

Mirin vs Rice Vinegar: What’s the Difference?

Mirin contributes sweetness; rice vinegar contributes acidity. They are therefore not direct substitutes for one another.

MAFF describes mirin as a seasoning valued for sweetness, gloss and other cooking effects, while vinegar is produced through a different fermentation process and is used for its acidity.

Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan (MAFF). View the MAFF source

■ How Is Mirin Used in Japanese Cooking?

Mirin is used in Japanese cooking whenever a dish needs sweetness, balance, depth or an attractive glossy finish.

・ Teriyaki

Teriyaki is one of the easiest dishes in which to understand the purpose of mirin.

MAFF recommends a memorable all-purpose ratio of:

This combination can be used for dishes including chicken teriyaki. Mirin helps soften the saltiness of soy sauce and contributes to the glossy finish associated with teriyaki-style cooking.

Source: Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan (MAFF), guide to traditional seasoning ratios. View the MAFF guide

・ Nimono – Japanese Simmered Dishes

Mirin is widely used in Japanese simmered dishes made with vegetables, meat or fish. MAFF notes that mirin can help seasoning penetrate ingredients and can help food retain its shape during simmering.

・ Noodle Sauces

Mirin also works naturally with dashi and soy sauce. MAFF gives a ratio of dashi 12 : soy sauce 1 : mirin 1 for a noodle-style seasoning base.

・ Meat and Fish

As well as adding sweetness and gloss, MAFF identifies odour reduction as one of mirin’s traditional cooking effects, making it useful in meat and fish dishes.

■ How to Use Mirin at Home

If you are wondering how to use mirin for the first time, start by combining it with soy sauce.

These ratios are useful starting points rather than rules for every dish. You can adjust them depending on the recipe and your preferred balance of sweetness and saltiness.

It is also important to check which type of mirin product you have. A bottle of 13.6% ABV hon mirin is not the same product as a 0.12% alcohol mirin-style seasoning. Follow the recipe and the instructions on your bottle.

■ What Can I Use Instead of Mirin?

No substitute perfectly replaces mirin because mirin contributes several things at once, including sweetness, flavour and gloss.

If you have no mirin and mainly need to reproduce the combination of a cooking-wine element and sweetness, sake with a small amount of sugar can sometimes be used as a practical approximation. However, it will not reproduce all of mirin’s flavour or traditional cooking effects.

Rice vinegar is not a direct substitute for mirin. Rice vinegar adds acidity rather than sweetness, so using it in the same quantity can significantly change the flavour of a dish.

You can also cook without mirin in some recipes, but the finished dish may have less sweetness, balance or gloss than intended.

■ Where to Buy Mirin in the UK

Yutaka Shop Online offers three mirin-related seasonings for different styles of Japanese cooking.

Yutaka Mirin Sweet Rice Seasoning 150ml

An everyday mirin seasoning for adding sweetness, depth and gloss to Japanese cooking.

It can be used in simmered vegetables and fish, braised pork belly, noodle soup bases and dipping sauces. The product is listed as gluten-free.

Best for: convenient everyday Japanese cooking.

Shop Yutaka Mirin

Takara Hon Mirin 13.6% 300ml

A traditional alcoholic hon mirin with an alcohol content of 13.6% ABV.

Its listed ingredients include water, glutinous rice, rice koji, distilled alcohol and glucose syrup.

Best for: cooks looking specifically for hon mirin for traditional Japanese dishes.

Shop Takara Hon Mirin

Mizkan Honteri Mirin Sweet Seasoning 275ml

A mirin-style seasoning containing 0.12% alcohol.

It is designed for Japanese dishes where you want mirin-style sweetness with very low alcohol content.

Best for: everyday Japanese cooking with a very low-alcohol mirin-style seasoning.

Shop Mizkan Honteri

Always check the latest product page and packaging before use, particularly for ingredients, allergens, alcohol content and storage instructions.

■ Frequently Asked Questions About Mirin

■ Discover the Role of Mirin in Japanese Cooking

Mirin may look like a simple sweet seasoning, but its role in Japanese cooking is much broader.

It can add sweetness, help balance soy sauce, create an attractive gloss and contribute to the finished character of simmered, grilled and sauced dishes.

Once you understand the difference between hon mirin, mirin seasoning and Honteri, choosing the right bottle becomes much easier.

If you are trying mirin for the first time, start with one of the simplest combinations in Japanese home cooking:

It is an easy way to discover why mirin has remained such an important Japanese seasoning.

■ Sources

• Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan (MAFF) – Traditional Foods of Japan

  Information on traditional mirin ingredients, history and cooking effects including sweetness, gloss, seasoning penetration, shape retention during simmering and odour reduction.

  View the MAFF source
• National Tax Agency of Japan – Alcoholic Beverage Product Knowledge

  Information on the legal classification of mirin and sake, traditional mirin maturation, and the distinction between mirin and mirin-style seasoning containing less than 1% alcohol.

  View the National Tax Agency document
• Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan (MAFF) – Traditional Seasoning Ratios

  Official examples including soy sauce, sake and mirin at 1:1:1 and dashi, soy sauce and mirin at 12:1:1.

  View the MAFF guide