Don't get me wrong, Mirin is one of the most used ingredients in Japanese cuisine. However, I would say that most restaurants don't buy super premium Mirin - depending on the dish, you could use as little as a few tablespoons, or as much as several cups. At $5 a bottle (or more) for the real stuff, it would become prohibitively expensive to use. I would just try using one of the commercially available Mirins and see what you like. Personally, I'm using Kikkoman right now. I've used Takara before. I don't use the cheap stuff since they're mostly HFCS. But I don't spend a lot on the stuff.Mirin is not saki. They are two different products, made differently. How can I explore true Japanese cuisine without true Japanese ingredients?
The salted and seasoned fake stuff costs more than that. A 1 liter bottle of Kikkoman aji-mirin at my local asian supermarket costs $8.49.Don't get me wrong, Mirin is one of the most used ingredients in Japanese cuisine. However, I would say that most restaurants don't buy super premium Mirin - depending on the dish, you could use as little as a few tablespoons, or as much as several cups. At $5 a bottle (or more) for the real stuff, it would become prohibitively expensive to use.
Where did you buy it in Berkeley? Tokyo Fish?I haven't had a chance to cook with it yet, but a taste test shows a distinctive flavor that I can see working with sake.