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Rice Wines for Delivery or Pickup
The Instacart guide to rice wine
When you think of wine, you generally envision a fermented beverage made from grapes or another type of fruit. Although rice wine checks the fermentation box, it isn't made from fruit. Instead, this wine variety is made from glutinous rice, a grain.
About rice wine
Most rice wine comes from Japan or China, and it tends to have dry or sweet profiles. You can purchase many different kinds of rice wine for either drinking or cooking. When you use rice wine for cooking, it adds a wide range of flavors, often making dishes taste more complex.
Types of rice wine
There are three categories of rice wine, and each type has its own spectrum of styles. The 3 kinds of rice wine include:
- Sake: A Japanese white wine made from rice. Although you can use sake for cooking, most people enjoy drinking it alone or in a cocktail. There are five types of sake, and each includes unique ingredients and brewing styles.
- Mirin: A sweet Japanese rice wine used for cooking. This wine is relatively viscous and comes in three standard varieties: fermented mirin, mirin seasoning, and real (“hon”) mirin. It has a golden color and is made by fermenting shochu, koji mold, and glutinous rice.
- Shaoxing: A sweet Chinese rice wine used for cooking. It has an amber color and is made by fermenting rice, wheat, and water.
Rice wine shopping tips
Because there are so many kinds of rice wine to choose from, picking the right one can be challenging, especially if it's your first time shopping. Keep these tips in mind as you shop for rice wine:
- Know your sake types. There are five types of sake to choose from. Namazake is unpasteurized, while Junmai-shu includes pure sake. Ginjo-shu has 40% milled rice, Daiginjo-shu has 35% to 50% milled rice, and Honjozo-shu uses 70% milled rice.
- Match the cooking wine with the cuisine type. Should you pick up a bottle of mirin or Shaoxing? To decide between the two, consider the type of food you're making. Mirin typically adds the right touch of umami to Japanese dishes, while Shaoxing gives Chinese dishes a delicious finish.