Sake isn't just a beverage to consume with a meal; it's an essential ingredient in Japanese cooking and can be used to elevate all types of food by adding umami. Here's everything you need to know about sake.

Jump to:
- What is Sake?
- Why Cook with Sake?
- Are Sake and Mirin the Same?
- Is There a Difference Between Sake for Cooking and Drinking Sake?
- What Kind of Sake Should I Use for Cooking?
- What Sake Should I Avoid?
- Will Flavored or Sparkling Sake Work?
- What Can I Use Instead of Sake?
- How Do I Use Sake in Cooking?
- Other FAQs
- More on Sake
- Comments
What is Sake?
In Japan, sake means "liquor," but to the rest of the world, it's become synonymous with an alcoholic beverage brewed from rice. It's known as nihonshu (日本酒) in Japan, and it's made through the parallel fermentation of rice using koji and yeast.
The koji breaks down the starch in the rice into simple sugars, which are turned into alcohol by yeast. Koji also contains enzymes that break down the protein in rice into amino acids. This gives sake the taste of umami, which makes it a flavorful beverage to consume with a meal. It can also be added to food as a natural MSG and has long been used in Japanese dishes to add this crave-worthy taste.
Why Cook with Sake?
- Umami - Due to the protein content of rice, rice wine naturally contains amino acids like glutamate, aspartate, and proline, which create the taste of umami in food and give Japanese recipes their distinctive flavor. Since grapes contain little protein, wine does not have the same flavor-enhancing effect. This makes white wine unsuitable for substitution.
- Flavor - Sake has a mild fruity flavor that compliments a wide variety of ingredients without overpowering them. This makes it a natural fit for delicate Japanese cuisine, but it can also be used as a seasoning to enhance the taste of Western dishes as well.
- Low acidity - Unlike wine, sake is not very acidic, so it won't make foods you cook with it taste sour.
- No alcohol - Ethanol (the alcohol in sake) has a boiling temperature of 78.37°C. Since this is significantly lower than the boiling point of water (100°C), the alcohol content burns off in the cooking process.
Are Sake and Mirin the Same?

Both sake and mirin are Japanese rice wines and play vital roles in Japanese cooking, but they are not directly interchangeable. Real mirin, like sake, is brewed from rice, which means it's also rich in umami-producing amino acids. Good mirin tends to be dark amber and has a much sweeter taste than sake. The sweetness of mirin is a natural result of fermentation, and there should be no added sugar. Unfortunately, the type of rice wine sold as mirin outside of Japan has not gone through the brewing process and is just alcohol mixed with sweeteners and flavor enhancers. This is why I recommend substituting an equal amount of sake with ½ the amount of sugar (i.e. 2 tablespoons of sake and 1 tablespoon of sugar) if you can't find real mirin.
Is There a Difference Between Sake for Cooking and Drinking Sake?
The rabbit hole of sake is deep; there are whole books on the subject. When choosing the best sake for cooking, there's just one important thing to remember: the polish ratio (a.k.a. mill ratio). When making premium sake, the protein-rich outer layers of rice are polished away to leave the starch-rich core, which gives a delicate flavor. This results in a more fragrant beverage; however, it comes at the expense of umami (which comes from the protein in the rice). Since the goal of using sake in cooking is to add umami to your food, you want to use sake made from rice that's been polished as little as possible.

The polish ratio is expressed as a percentage of the remaining rice. So, for example, sake made from highly polished rice may have a ratio of 23%, which means it's been milled down to 23% of its original weight. This type of sake will not only come with a higher price tag, but it's also not great for cooking because expensive sake has a lower concentration of amino acids.
What Kind of Sake Should I Use for Cooking?
Good sake for cooking is one with a higher number for the polish ratio (a.k.a. "cheap sake"). Futsu-shu and Junmai-shu typically have a polish ratio above 70% (higher rice remaining), so these inexpensive bottles are good categories of sake for cooking. American-brewed Sho Chiku Bai and Japanese sake brand Hakutsuru make relatively affordable sake in these categories.
What Sake Should I Avoid?
One thing I implore you to avoid is using "cooking sake." Like "cooking wine" these products have often had a large amount of sodium added to them to make them undrinkable. Using this salty sake in recipes that call for sake will most likely make the finished dish inedible.
Will Flavored or Sparkling Sake Work?
Recently, sake breweries have started producing carbonated "sparkling sake" and flavored sake. Both categories of beverages are often sweetened, which makes them unsuitable for cooking.
What Can I Use Instead of Sake?
Sake is added to Japanese recipes for three reasons: as a liquid, for flavor, and umami. Although there is no good substitute for sake in cooking, you can replace it with an equal amount of water and a pinch of MSG or a stock such as vegetable or chicken broth. Avoid rice wine vinegar, regular wine, or fruit juice as substitutes, as these are all too acidic and do not have the high amino acid content that creates the taste of umami.
How Do I Use Sake in Cooking?
Sake is a versatile ingredient that can be used as a liquid in almost any dish to add more umami and flavor. Try substituting it in place of wine, broth, or water in your favorite recipe. If you need some ideas, here are just a few of my recipes that use it:

Marinades - When used as a marinade, rice wine imparts umami to the food you soak in it, and it can also help neutralize gamey odors from meat or seafood. It's a great addition to marinade recipes for Shogayaki and Karaage, but it can also be used to marinate things such as boiled eggs to make Ajitsuke Tamago (Ramen Egg).

Braising liquid - In the West, braising is usually done with stock or wine, but in Japan, rice wine or dashi are the preferred liquids. Nimono, Kakuni, and Umeboshi Chicken Wings are just a few of my recipes that feature sake as a braising liquid.

Soups and stews - While most Japanese soups are made with a base of dashi stock, sake is often added to boost umami in soups and stews. My Tonjiru and Chicken Udon feature meat-based stocks, but adding rice wine contributes glutamate, which creates synergistic umami with the meat's nucleic acids. Mentsuyu is the base for many Japanese noodle soups, and a splash of sake makes the umami from the dashi pop.

Sauces - We can't talk about sake's role in food without discussing one of the most famous Japanese sauces: Teriyaki Sauce. With just three basic ingredients, sake is what between sweet soy sauce and my homemade teriyaki sauce. It's what makes Teriyaki Chicken such a stand-out dish and imparts a distinctive Japanese taste. Give it a try, and you'll definitely taste the difference. I also like to add rice wine to my Tebasaki Sauce, as well as my dipping sauces for cold noodles such as somen or soba.

Stir-fries - Sake or mirin also work great for stir-fries when you just need a little extra liquid that can also boost the flavors of dishes, like my Okinawa Taco Rice, Beef Yaki Udon, and Orange Chicken.
Other FAQs
Although most rice wine is clear, it can have a wide range of complex flavors that belies its simple appearance. The taste of sake can range from light and dry with a mineral flavor to sweet and rich with aromas of melons and strawberries. Fruity aromas come from more polished rice, so you generally want to avoid these for cooking unless you want the fruity aroma. Because the alcohol in rice wine evaporates, your dishes are left with just the lovely umami flavor and without the alcohol.
Sake is a 2-syllable name pronounced as follows (read the italicized parts).
sa like socks
ke like kept
Sake, like most brewed beverages, will oxidize when exposed to oxygen, heat, and light, so storing leftover sake in a cool, dark place is recommended. This should make it last for over a year. I usually store mine in the fridge. That being said, a small amount of oxidation will not be noticeable when you cook with it, so as long as your kitchen doesn't get too hot, it's okay to keep the sake at room temperature for a few months.
Because sake has not been distilled, it will oxidize over time. Telltale signs of oxidation include a yellow or amber color and a sweet caramel-like aroma. For drinking, this is generally considered undesirable (though there are exceptions where people deliberately age rice wine). However, the effects of oxidation aren't as noticeable in food, which is why it's generally okay to use a bottle of sake that's gone "bad" for cooking. That being said, you should avoid cooking with any rice wine that has a rancid or sour smell.
Sake is made with only plant-based ingredients, so it is inherently vegan. However, some large producers of sake use gelatin to clarify their products. It won't be listed in the ingredients since the final product doesn't contain any gelatin; however, this might be off-putting if you are vegan or vegetarian. Be sure to check with the maker to see if their rice wine is vegan or not.
Yes, real sake is made with rice, koji (a type of fungus which grows on the rice), and yeast and is therefore gluten-free. It's also a way to tell that it's real sake.
Laarnie Pagdanganan says
Can i use japanese mirin instead of cooking sake
Marc Matsumoto says
Mirin is another alcoholic beverage used for cooking, but in addition to providing umami, mirin also provides sweetness, so depending on the recipe it's not always desirable. The other problem with mirin is that most mirin sold outside of Japan is not brewed (it's basically a cocktail of brewers alcohol, corn syrup, msg and salt). If you can't get your hands on true brewed mirin I recommend using sake with sugar instead.
Jo says
Hi Marc,
This info is great thank you. I'm in Australia and sake is surprisingly expensive. I'm tossing up whether I should buy some decent sake for cooking. I've read your FAQ above, but I'm wondering if I make a large batch of your teriyaki sauce (for example), will the sake in the sauce still be okay in a month or two? Once the sake is opened its only good for 3-6 days?
I know you have lots of recipes that call for sake, but I'm not sure I can use a bottle in time!
Thanks heaps,
Jo
Kathy Stroup says
Hi, Jo! In the FAQ Marc suggests that an open bottle of sake will last up to a year in the fridge, or two to three months in the cupboard. The teriyaki sauce stays good for a few months in the fridge, so you can make up a big batch. And I have found that the less-expensive kinds work best for cooking. I'm in the States, so I can't give you brands, but the ones I use only cost $6-8 US. It has really transformed my cooking! Hope you enjoy it!
Marc Matsumoto says
Hi Jo, Kathy covered all the bases. Sake isn't like wine in that it won't turn to vinegar if you let it sit too long. It does age and start to turn yellowish, but it's still fine for cooking.
Kathy Stroup says
I just picked up a bottle of Gekkeikan at Smart and Final last night. I did not realize that it's made in Folsom, CA! Lived up there half my life and never knew they were making sake. I've seen it in other stores, but I usually end up buying the Sho Chiku Bai. I've known for a long time that it's made in Berkeley, CA. Hakutsuru looks like it's made in Japan, but imported through offices in Torrence, CA. I've not seen it in the supermarkets, but it's probably more common in Japanese stores.
The mirin brand I find in my local Kroger is Yaegaki, They brew sake and mirin in Vernon, CA. https://www.yaegaki.com/sake/us/premiumsake/ I've only tried their mirin, and I really like it for cooking. It's naturally brewed and doesn't have any added ingredients. Even though the label says, "Sweet Sake for Cooking," it's not like the Kikkoman version, which has corn sweetener and salt.
The problem with buying sake in supermarkets is that it's often hidden amongst the myriad of wine bottles. Usually they only have a few choices, but they'll have one that's great for cooking. I like using the online shopping option, even just for getting a location if I'm going to buy it in the store.
Marc says
Hi Kathy, I didn't realize Gekkeikan is made in Folsom either. Anything branded Hakutsuru will have been imported from Japan, but they own a US sake brewery called Sake One.
Thanks of the info about the mirin!