Mirin (みりん) is a sweet Japanese rice "wine" used almost entirely for cooking. True hon-mirin is a category in Japan's Liquor Tax Act at 13.5 to 14.5% alcohol, made from glutinous rice, rice kōji and shochu with no yeast fermentation. It gives dishes gloss, layered sweetness, umami and aroma, and masks fishy odours.
This is our main guide to mirin, written for chefs and curious cooks alike: what hon-mirin actually is, how it differs from the cheaper mirin-style cousins, how it is made, and how a kitchen uses it for teriyaki gloss and simmered dishes. It sits inside our Pantry Masterclass.
What Is Mirin?
Mirin (みりん) is a sweet rice seasoning made for cooking rather than drinking. The version sold as hon-mirin (本みりん) is a legally defined category in Japan's Liquor Tax Act: rice and rice kōji with shochu or alcohol added, then matured and filtered. It is an alcoholic product at 13.5 to 14.5% alcohol, so in Japan it is taxed and sold only by licensed liquor retailers.
What makes it distinctive is a rich, mellow, layered sweetness that plain sugar cannot copy, plus a background umami from kōji-derived amino acids. Its documented history is long: the earliest Japanese mention dates to 1593, and the earliest record of mirin used in cooking to 1689.
For a chef, the one thing to hold is that real mirin is doing several jobs at once, sweetening, glossing, deepening and de-odourising, which is why a true hon-mirin behaves differently in the pan from sugar or from a cheap mirin-style bottle.
Source: NRIB mirin booklet (legal definition, alcohol level, history), facts extracted and reworded. The "43 to 45% sugar" figure often quoted elsewhere is not in our sources and is deliberately omitted.
Hon-Mirin and Its Cheaper Cousins
The single most useful thing to know about mirin is that three different products share the name, and only one is true mirin. Hon-mirin is the real, alcoholic, brewed article; the other two are cheaper seasonings engineered to imitate it while sidestepping the liquor tax. They behave differently in cooking and in law.
| Category | Japanese | Alcohol | What it is |
|---|---|---|---|
| True mirin | 本みりん (hon-mirin) | 13.5 to 14.5% | Glutinous rice, rice kōji and shochu, saccharified by kōji enzymes; taxed as liquor |
| Mirin-style seasoning | みりん風調味料 | Under 1% | Built from glucose syrup and flavourings; no need to cook off alcohol; sold anywhere |
| Fermented seasoning | 発酵調味料 | 10 to 14% | Salted (1.5g/100ml or more) so it is undrinkable and untaxed; adjust the dish's salt to suit |
The practical reading for a kitchen: hon-mirin is the one to reach for when mirin's flavour and gloss matter, in a glaze you taste directly. The low-alcohol mirin-style seasoning is a convenience product, useful when you want to skip cooking off the alcohol or are cooking alcohol-free, but it is thinner in flavour. The salted fermented seasoning is a catering cost-saver that needs you to pull back on other salt. Read the label, not just the word "mirin".
Source: NRIB mirin booklet for the legal categories, alcohol levels and tax status; SushiSushi product range for examples. Whether a given product is legally a fermented seasoning depends on its own label.
How Is Mirin Made?
Hon-mirin is unusual among rice products in having no yeast, and so no alcoholic fermentation. Its only transformation is enzymatic: rice-kōji enzymes saccharify the starch of steamed glutinous rice into sugars and break its protein into amino acids, while the shochu or alcohol added at the start preserves the mash and ends up in the finished mirin. The sweetness is made, not added.
The raw materials are glutinous rice (もち米), rice kōji and shochu or alcohol. The kōji is grown on non-glutinous rice milled to around 80 to 85%, and because there is no fermentation to lean on, the kōji's enzyme strength and balance largely decide the quality. The glutinous rice is milled to about 85% and pressure-steamed so it does not cloud the product. Kōji, steamed rice and alcohol are combined into a moromi mash, matured for about two months, then pressed to a clear, sweet liquid.
For a chef, the takeaway is why hon-mirin tastes of more: that two-month enzymatic maturation builds a spread of different sugars and amino acids, where a mirin-style seasoning simply blends glucose syrup to a target sweetness.
Source: NRIB mirin booklet (no-yeast kōji saccharification, raw materials, rice polishing, pressure-steaming, ~2-month moromi); facts extracted and reworded. The kōji enzyme mechanism is shared with our kōji guide.
Popular Products
Four mirins that show the split, two true hon-mirins and two low-alcohol Honteri mirin-style seasonings:
Ajinoichi Luxury Hon Mirin, 750ml
A premium true hon-mirin: properly brewed glutinous rice, rice kōji and shochu, with the layered sweetness and gloss a glaze is built on. The bottle to reach for when the mirin is tasted directly.
Hinode Hon Mirin, 400ml
The everyday true hon-mirin in a kitchen-friendly bottle: real, alcoholic mirin at around 13.5%, for teriyaki, simmered dishes and glazes. Cook it off (nikiri) where the dish needs the alcohol gone.
How Chefs Use Mirin
Mirin earns its place through four cooking effects working together: gloss, browning, odour-masking and a layered sweet-savoury depth. The signature is teri (照り), the glossy sheen on teriyaki, yakitori and kabayaki glazes, which comes from mirin's mix of sugars caramelising. Its sugars and amino acids also drive browning aroma and colour, while its alcohol carries flavour into ingredients and masks fishy or gamey odours.
In practice mirin is most often used at roughly one to one with soy sauce for teriyaki and similar glazes, and alongside dashi and soy in simmered dishes (nimono). Because raw alcohol can knock a dish off balance, true hon-mirin is frequently cooked off first, a step called nikiri (煮切る): heat it to drive off the alcohol, and a light flame on the surface chars it slightly and lifts the aroma. Low-alcohol mirin-style seasonings skip this step, which is much of their appeal.
Our steer for a working kitchen: keep a true hon-mirin for glazes and finishing where flavour and gloss matter, and a low-alcohol Honteri for fast, high-volume or alcohol-free work, and remember to nikiri the hon-mirin when the alcohol would otherwise show. (Exact ratios beyond the classic one-to-one are our own practice; tune to the dish.)
Source: NRIB mirin booklet (teri, browning, odour-masking, the 1:1 soy ratio and the nikiri technique); facts extracted and reworded. Specific kitchen ratios beyond this are SushiSushi practice.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between hon-mirin and mirin-style seasoning?
Hon-mirin is true mirin: a brewed, alcoholic product (13.5 to 14.5%) made from glutinous rice, rice kōji and shochu, with a deep, layered sweetness and gloss. Mirin-style seasoning (mirin-fū) contains under 1% alcohol and is built from glucose syrup and flavourings to imitate mirin cheaply. Hon-mirin tastes fuller; mirin-style is a convenience product that needs no cooking off.
Is mirin alcoholic?
True hon-mirin is, at around 13.5 to 14.5% alcohol, which is why in Japan it is taxed and sold by licensed liquor retailers. Low-alcohol mirin-style seasonings contain under 1%, and salted fermented seasonings sit at 10 to 14% but are made undrinkable with salt. Check the label if alcohol content matters for your kitchen or diners.
Do you need to cook the alcohol out of mirin?
Often, yes, for true hon-mirin. The step is called nikiri: you heat the mirin to drive off the raw alcohol before or during cooking, which stops it unbalancing the dish and rounds the flavour. Lightly flaming the surface chars it a little and improves the aroma. Low-alcohol mirin-style seasonings do not need this, as they contain almost no alcohol.
How is mirin made?
Hon-mirin is made without yeast, so there is no alcoholic fermentation. Rice-kōji enzymes saccharify the starch of steamed glutinous rice into sugars and break protein into amino acids, with shochu or alcohol added at the start. Kōji, steamed rice and alcohol are matured together as a moromi mash for about two months, then pressed to a clear, sweet liquid.
What can I use mirin for?
Mirin gives gloss, sweetness, umami and aroma, and masks fishy odours. It is the gloss in teriyaki, yakitori and kabayaki glazes, usually at about one to one with soy sauce, and it rounds out simmered dishes (nimono), sukiyaki, miso glazes and noodle broths. Reach for true hon-mirin where the flavour is tasted directly.
Where to Buy Mirin in the UK
If you are looking to buy mirin in the UK, we keep a range with fast delivery across the UK, from premium and everyday true hon-mirin to low-alcohol Honteri mirin-style seasonings in kitchen and catering sizes. Start with a true hon-mirin if you want the proper flavour and gloss.
For more, browse the Pantry Masterclass, or read about kōji, the enzyme engine behind mirin, and soy sauce, its partner in a teriyaki glaze.
Provenance: built from the SushiSushi Knowledge Base record store/mirin/mirin.md. The category, legal and production backbone is the National Research Institute of Brewing's mirin booklet, a separately copyrighted publication whose facts are extracted and reworded here, not reproduced; product examples are from the SushiSushi range. The often-quoted "43 to 45% sugar" figure is unsourced and omitted; mirin's producing region (historically Aichi) is not yet confirmed from a primary source.
