Mirin Substitute
When you're out of mirin — homemade teriyaki sauce, eel sauce, gyudon, sukiyaki udon, and brown sugar & ponzu salmon that work with what's in the pantry.
★ side
sideIngredients
- 1/3 cup Soy sauce
- 3/4 cup orange juice
- 1 tsp Rice vinegar
- 1/3 cup Brown sugar
- 1 tsp Garlic powder
- 1 tsp Onion powder
- 2 tablespoons Corn starch
- 1/4 cup Cold water
- 1 tsp Garlic, minced
- 1 tsp Ginger, minced
Instructions
- 1In a sauce pan on medium low heat add all ingredients except cornstarch and water. Stir well until all brown sugar is melted.
- 2In a bowl mix together cornstarch and water until there are no clumps. Add to the sauce pan and stir till sauce thickens. If you need to turn up the heat you may do so but keep a good watch as the sauce will thicken quickly. Enjoy!
P.S. We update the recipes on this page every few days. If you want to cook this recipe over and over again, we'd love it if you downloaded Pepper 🤝.
More to try
lunch
breakfast
dinner
dinner
Find more recipes like this
Join 1M+ cooks discovering, organizing, and sharing their recipes on Pepper
Open in Pepper →You Can Cook This Without The Mirin
Mirin is one of those bottles you buy for one recipe and then can't find when you need it. The sweetness and a little tang are what matter, and rice vinegar with a spoon of sugar, or orange juice, gets you close enough for a Tuesday.
Cooks on Pepper reach for these when the takeout craving hits at 5:30 and the pantry is down to soy sauce, sugar, and whatever's in the fridge door.
Every recipe here leans on what you already have: homemade teriyaki sauce built on soy sauce and orange juice, eel sauce for rice bowls, ponzu chicken lettuce wraps, gyudon with shaved steak and onion, sukiyaki udon, and brown sugar & ponzu salmon.
Quick Tips
- 1
Swap in vinegar and sugar
For 1/4 cup mirin, stir 1/4 cup rice vinegar with 1 tablespoon sugar until it dissolves. Taste before adding more.
- 2
Simmer sauces to thicken
Let soy-and-sugar sauces bubble 5 to 8 minutes over medium until they coat the back of a spoon. They tighten more as they cool.
- 3
Slice the beef cold
Freeze the steak 20 minutes before cutting so you can get paper-thin strips for gyudon. Thin beef cooks in about 2 minutes.
- 4
Watch the brown sugar
Sugary glazes scorch fast, so keep salmon at 400°F and start checking at 12 minutes. Spoon pan sauce over at the end.
Never lose a recipe again
Save everything. Stay organized. Share with friends.
