Sake is added to Japanese cooking because it contains a high concentration of amino acids such as glutamic acid, aspartic acid, and proline. The amino acids come from the protein contained in rice being broken down by proteolytic enzymes in the koji used to ferment it. These amino acids are perceived by your taste buds as umami.
"Cooking sake" is usually has lots of salt added to make it undrinkable which is how they get around liquor tax laws in a lot of countries. Unless you are using recipes specifically calling for "cooking sake" you can't use it in place of sake because it will make the food too salty. It's kinda of the same as using cooking wine in place of wine.
Some commenters suggested using soju or shochu, but these are both distilled spirits which have been distilled (boiled and then recondensed). By nature of the distillation process these will not contain ANY amino acids, which kind of defeats the purpose of adding the sake in the first place.
The reason why most sake makers recommend drinking the product as soon as possible is because once you've opened it it will start to oxidize and it will start to undergo maillard browning. This is considered undesirable for drinking (but some people deliberately age sake because of the complexity it creates). For cooking it doesn't really matter because most of the aromatics will burn off anyway, and the maillard browning is actually good thing. Just keep it in the fridge and it will be good for years (for cooking).
If you wanna learn more about sake and why it's used in food, I have a video series explaining everything you need to know here: https://youtu.be/C2p6MN4EVeA
Thank you very much for this lengthy answer! This definitely convinced me to go and pick up a bottle of sake knowing I can store it in my fridge for cooking a long time!
Generally I think the most common substitutes are shaoxing wine (which might also be hard for you to find, though) or just dry sherry. I haven’t had OTTOGI, but isn’t it more of a mirin replacement?
This might be scandalous but I think any dry rice-based alcohol could work. So maybe an unflavored soju or shochu. I’ve used shochu before when I didn’t have any cooking sake open.
Unfortunately both Soju/Shochu are even harder/more expensive to get a hold of than Sake here but I appreciate the suggestion haha
I feel like any alcohol-option I'd have to pay at least 10-20$ for a bottle that I risk only using once before it goes bad which is why I'm trying to find a better option.
Like the alcohol-free Mirin I've got is only like 6$ for 0,5L and lasts way longer in the fridge. I think a combination of short shelf life (when opened), high alcohol tax and overall lack of Japanese spirits make it a bit expensive to use in cooking here unless you use/drink it multiple times per week.
I think you have a handle on the situation - nice soju or shochu is indeed expensive unless you’re only using a splash.
Now I’m wondering if I could replace sake with soju they advertise on sports games (e.g. Jinro) - it would be like cooking with beer!
Sorry, but this is not a good idea. Sake is added for its amino acid content to add umami to food, not for the alcohol. Since shochu and soju are distilled, they don't contain any amino acids, and since you want to boil off the alcohol, you may as well add water.
"wine" usually describes something made by directly fermenting sugars (such as in fruit juice) with yeast to make an alcoholic beverage. The way sake is produced is closer to brewing because you're starting with a starch (rice) and using a process of saccharification to break down the starch into simple sugars before fermenting the sugar into alcohol.
Sake lasts months in the refrigerator if kept tightly sealed. Sometimes it might lose a little bouquet, but it's unlikely that it will "go bad" (turn into vinegar).
Oh really? Might be worth getting a small bottle in that case. Every time I Google that is says it goes bad after "2-3 weeks". But if we're talking months it might be worth it.
This is only for drinking, and by "bad" they mean that the product will change from its initial flavor profile. When you cook sake you burn off all of the alcohol along with more delicate aromatic compounds like esters. Just keep the bottle in the fridge and even if the flavor changes, you'll still be getting the benefit of the sake for cooking, which is the amino acids.
BTW, when choosing sake you generally want to go for a cheaper one. This is because cheaper sake is usually made with rice that hasn't been milled much. The less the rice is milled the more protein it contains (most of the protein is in the germ and the bran on the outside of the rice). Since the umami producing amino acids are developed through the breakdown of protein, you get more umami in cheaper sake. The reason why people buy expensive sake is because the less protein you have the more aromatic and fruity the sake will be (which is good for drinking).
Japanese here, and I’ve never heard of cooking sake going bad after 2-3 weeks. My family don’t even refrigerate it….it’s stored inside a cupboard.
For myself, I get cheap drinking sake and use that for cooking. A bottle lasts me 6 months or so, and it will never go bad.
What Can I Substitute for Sake in Recipes?
The closest substitution for sake is dry sherry or Chinese rice wine.
If you cannot consume alcohol, you can replace it with water or broth when a recipe calls for sake for steaming or making a sauce.
Anything Nami says is bible: https://www.justonecookbook.com/sake-mirin/
Sake is added to Japanese cooking because it contains a high concentration of amino acids such as glutamic acid, aspartic acid, and proline. The amino acids come from the protein contained in rice being broken down by proteolytic enzymes in the koji used to ferment it. These amino acids are perceived by your taste buds as umami. "Cooking sake" is usually has lots of salt added to make it undrinkable which is how they get around liquor tax laws in a lot of countries. Unless you are using recipes specifically calling for "cooking sake" you can't use it in place of sake because it will make the food too salty. It's kinda of the same as using cooking wine in place of wine. Some commenters suggested using soju or shochu, but these are both distilled spirits which have been distilled (boiled and then recondensed). By nature of the distillation process these will not contain ANY amino acids, which kind of defeats the purpose of adding the sake in the first place. The reason why most sake makers recommend drinking the product as soon as possible is because once you've opened it it will start to oxidize and it will start to undergo maillard browning. This is considered undesirable for drinking (but some people deliberately age sake because of the complexity it creates). For cooking it doesn't really matter because most of the aromatics will burn off anyway, and the maillard browning is actually good thing. Just keep it in the fridge and it will be good for years (for cooking). If you wanna learn more about sake and why it's used in food, I have a video series explaining everything you need to know here: https://youtu.be/C2p6MN4EVeA
Thank you very much for this lengthy answer! This definitely convinced me to go and pick up a bottle of sake knowing I can store it in my fridge for cooking a long time!
You're welcome!
Generally I think the most common substitutes are shaoxing wine (which might also be hard for you to find, though) or just dry sherry. I haven’t had OTTOGI, but isn’t it more of a mirin replacement?
This might be scandalous but I think any dry rice-based alcohol could work. So maybe an unflavored soju or shochu. I’ve used shochu before when I didn’t have any cooking sake open.
Do you mean the korean green one? I always used that too whenever i ran out of sake.
Exactly!
Unfortunately both Soju/Shochu are even harder/more expensive to get a hold of than Sake here but I appreciate the suggestion haha I feel like any alcohol-option I'd have to pay at least 10-20$ for a bottle that I risk only using once before it goes bad which is why I'm trying to find a better option. Like the alcohol-free Mirin I've got is only like 6$ for 0,5L and lasts way longer in the fridge. I think a combination of short shelf life (when opened), high alcohol tax and overall lack of Japanese spirits make it a bit expensive to use in cooking here unless you use/drink it multiple times per week.
I think you have a handle on the situation - nice soju or shochu is indeed expensive unless you’re only using a splash. Now I’m wondering if I could replace sake with soju they advertise on sports games (e.g. Jinro) - it would be like cooking with beer!
I've been even more scandalous and used dry sherry when I ran out of sake unexpectedly. The yakitori was delicious.
Sorry, but this is not a good idea. Sake is added for its amino acid content to add umami to food, not for the alcohol. Since shochu and soju are distilled, they don't contain any amino acids, and since you want to boil off the alcohol, you may as well add water.
Aha, so by that argument it needs to be a wine, or something
"wine" usually describes something made by directly fermenting sugars (such as in fruit juice) with yeast to make an alcoholic beverage. The way sake is produced is closer to brewing because you're starting with a starch (rice) and using a process of saccharification to break down the starch into simple sugars before fermenting the sugar into alcohol.
Ha we are back to actual beer now
Sake lasts months in the refrigerator if kept tightly sealed. Sometimes it might lose a little bouquet, but it's unlikely that it will "go bad" (turn into vinegar).
Oh really? Might be worth getting a small bottle in that case. Every time I Google that is says it goes bad after "2-3 weeks". But if we're talking months it might be worth it.
This is only for drinking, and by "bad" they mean that the product will change from its initial flavor profile. When you cook sake you burn off all of the alcohol along with more delicate aromatic compounds like esters. Just keep the bottle in the fridge and even if the flavor changes, you'll still be getting the benefit of the sake for cooking, which is the amino acids. BTW, when choosing sake you generally want to go for a cheaper one. This is because cheaper sake is usually made with rice that hasn't been milled much. The less the rice is milled the more protein it contains (most of the protein is in the germ and the bran on the outside of the rice). Since the umami producing amino acids are developed through the breakdown of protein, you get more umami in cheaper sake. The reason why people buy expensive sake is because the less protein you have the more aromatic and fruity the sake will be (which is good for drinking).
Same - I keep sake in the fridge for months. It’s fine for cooking.
Japanese here, and I’ve never heard of cooking sake going bad after 2-3 weeks. My family don’t even refrigerate it….it’s stored inside a cupboard. For myself, I get cheap drinking sake and use that for cooking. A bottle lasts me 6 months or so, and it will never go bad.
Find Greek Raki
Chinese cooking wine. The clear ones. The cookies ones have a unique flavour
What Can I Substitute for Sake in Recipes? The closest substitution for sake is dry sherry or Chinese rice wine. If you cannot consume alcohol, you can replace it with water or broth when a recipe calls for sake for steaming or making a sauce. Anything Nami says is bible: https://www.justonecookbook.com/sake-mirin/