Originally published Wednesday, May 27, 2009 at 12:00 AM

3 courses for $30 at 49 standout restaurants

Eat well, save money and support local restaurants. Urban Eats offers you three-course dinners for only $30 from 49 of the area's most admired restaurants. Visit them May 3-31, 2009, Sunday-Thursday nights. See our map of participating restaurants.

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What can substitute for mirin?

Mirin is a sweet rice wine used in Japanese cooking but there are some liquids that can stand in for it.

McClatchy Newspapers

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Q. I found a recipe that calls for 3 tablespoons of mirin, but I don't have any. What is a good substitute?

A. Although it sometimes gets confused with rice wine vinegar, mirin actually is a sweet rice wine used in Japanese cooking. It doesn't just flavor food. The sweetness also gives luster to sauces and glazes and can help them cling to food.

If you don't have mirin, there are many common suggestions for substitutions. You can just use dry sherry or sweet marsala, for instance. Or you can dissolve a small amount of sugar in a little white wine or sherry, perhaps a 1/4 teaspoon of sugar to 1/4 cup wine wine.

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You might try a little corn syrup or simple syrup with the wine as mirin has a little more viscosity than just sugar and wine. Posted on May 28, 2009 at 11:14 PM by jorgebob28. Jump to comment

try apple juice... you won't have the alcohol content, but mirin doesn't HAVE to be alcoholic. although alcohol does have its benefits in... Posted on June 9, 2009 at 10:46 PM by dawu. Jump to comment

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