James Silverton wrote:
> kilikini wrote on Tue, 20 Feb 2007 08:29:21 -0500:
>
> k> James Silverton wrote:
> ??>> Nancy wrote on Tue, 20 Feb 2007 08:09:39 -0500:
> ??>>
> ??>>> see the answer when I look. Can I substitute something
> ??>>> for the sake?
> ??>>
> ??>>> I'm car challenged and just going to the supermarket is
> ??>>> enough.
> ??>>
> ??>>> Thanks, nancy
> ??>>
> ??>> Very dry sherry seems to work for me. In fact, I have used
> ??>> Amontillado, "Cocktail" or "Very Dry"....pretty obviously
> ??>> the usual bottle of cheaper sherry that I use for cooking.
> ??>>
> k> I don't know, dry sherry seems a little salty. I'd suggest
> k> mirin, maybe? It's another type of sweet rice wine.
>
> To each their own taste of course but I have never personally
> detected a salty taste in sherry. I do keep a bottle of mirin
> around and use it frequently but you have to careful with it as
> a replacement for sake if there are other sources of sweetness
> in the recipe.
>

In my experience Mirin (sold labelled "Ahi Mirin") is very sweet
(together with ground roasted sesame seeds, miso and rice wine vinegar
is makes a good sauce for grilled Japanese eggplant or for steamed
spinach), sake isn't very sweet, and sherry is not salty (maybe the
kind sold a "cooking sherry" is salty, I don't know). I'd go with the
suggestion of very dry sherry or dry vermouth.

-bwg

> James Silverton
> Potomac, Maryland
>
> E-mail, with obvious alterations:
> not.jim.silverton.at.comcast.not