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David Hare-Scott
 
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Default Sherry substitute in recipe?


"Lululemon" > wrote in message
om...
> Here's a recipe I found on Epicurous...I don't have Sherry and can't
> imagine buying any just for a recipe - we're a wine and beer house.
>
> What can I substitue for Sherry? Can I skip it? Will Mirin work? Do
> you have a better Beef & Broccoli recipe? Sorry - too many questions.
>
> Any suggestions would be appreciated!
> Thanks, Melanie
>
> BEEF AND BROCCOLI STIR FRY
>
> 1/4 cup soy sauce
> 1/4 cup dry Sherry
> 1 tablespoon honey
> 1 tablespoon (packed) chopped garlic
> 2 teaspoons grated orange peel
> 1 pound flank steak, cut diagonally across grain into thin strips
>
> 1 large head broccoli, cut into florets
>
> 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
> 1 tablespoon cornstarch
> Cooked white rice
>
> Whisk first 5 ingredients in large bowl. Add meat; toss to coat. Cover
> and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours.
>
> Blanch broccoli in large pot of boiling salted water 2 minutes. Drain.
> Rinse under cold water; drain well.
>
> Heat oil in heavy large wok or skillet over high heat. Drain meat
> well, reserving marinade. Add cornstarch to reserved marinade and mix
> until smooth; set aside. Add meat to wok and stir-fry until almost
> cooked through, about 2 minutes. Add broccoli and stir-fry until
> crisp-tender, about 2 minutes. Add reserved marinade mixture and boil
> until sauce thickens and coats meat and broccoli, stirring constantly,
> about 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve over
> rice.
>
> Serves 4.
>
>
> Bon Appétit
> November 1995


In many Chinese recipes dry sherry is already a substitute for Chinese
Cooking Wine, also called shao shing (various spellings). I can buy this in
specialty supermarkets and it is not expensive, however YMMV. If you are
going to do much cooking of this style I would invest in a bottle as it
lasts a long time.

If you don't want to (or can't) buy shao shing or sherry then mirin would do
but take care as it is quite sweet whereas the others are not, the sugar
will alter the flavour balance of the dish. In a pinch a dry white wine
would give you something like it. In my opinion sake is probably closer to
shao shing in taste than sherry or mirin.

David