Mirin VS Rice Vinegar: What’s the

Difference?

Mirin VS Rice Vinegar are actually similar but very different in a lot of ways in terms of how they
are used, that's why it's easy to get the two confused.

Mirin VS Rice Vinegar Usage 

  
Mirin vs Rice Vinegar are both great for e
​ nhancing the flavor of the 
cooking​. But the important thing is what type of cooking. Since these 
small differences can either ​import delicious flavoring​ or destroy your 
meal. 

Using As Condiment 
  
Firstly mirin works great as a condiment for your sushi rolls. And gives 
the sushi rolls a nice delicate sweetness which contrasts with the 
saltiness of the seaweed nori. 

Meanwhile with rice vinegar, although it can be u ​ sed as a dipping 

sauce​, it is not used by itself. Meaning it is added together as an 
ingredient that is central for giving the d
​ ipping sauce a sweet​ and 
savory taste.  

Hence it’s common that the rice vinegar is part of Chinese dipping 
sauce. Where it is m
​ ixed with other ingredients​ such as lime juice, 
sesame, ginger, sugar, and soy sauce to be used for dipping summer 
rolls or Chinese dumplings. 
Flavoring Cooking 

 
Besides being used in dipping food, Mirin VS Rice Vinegar can be 
similar and different ​as an agent for cooking​. 

Since mirin can be widely used for ​flavoring a wide variety of meat​ or 
seafood. Because it contains as much as 45% sugar in some brands. 
And the sugar makes it wonderful for tenderizing meat. 

Furthermore, there’s also the alcohol content in the sauce which will 
help draw out the umami texture in the food similar to sake. Hence 
giving meat and fish an appealing glaze along with a d​ istinctive 
fragrance​. 
While rice vinegar gets its distinct subtle sweet flavor from the 
fermenting process. Moreover is often cited to be mild, sour, mellow, 
and smoky all at the same time. 

Beyond just cooking meat, it is more often for noodles, soups, and 
seafood. And there’s no need for a large amount, since only a touch of 
the acidity is all that you want. 

Mirin VS Rice Vinegar Ingredient 

 
Even though they are miles apart in terms of how they are to be used 
in ​cooking and flavoring for foods​. They are very similar in terms of 
the way they are made.  
Since the general ingredients for mirin are water, rice, salt and 
fructose/glucose. While the ingredients generally are the same for rice 
vinegar but with more sugar. 

Hence mirin although is very similar to rice vinegar, mirin is sweet and 
with alcohol that enhances the umami flavor. While the acidity of rice 
vinegar creates a ​sour tanginess in the flavoring​. 

Are They Gluten Free? 

Another difference between rice vinegar and mirin is that mirin is 
totally gluten free. Since mirin is a rice-based cooking wine fermented 
from rice which doesn’t contain any gluten. 

However this is not so true for rice vinegar, even though it is made 
from rice. Since some products depending on the brand may actually 
contain a mixture of wheat making it not gluten free. 

Even though it is made from rice, you should still check on the back of 
the table to see if it contains malt or wheat. And also see if it is from 
distilled vinegars. Which contains vinegar from grains or malts but is 
removed during the distillation filtering. 

Alcohol Content 
  
Firstly in terms of alcohol content, rice vinegar contains absolutely no 
alcohol in its end product or at least very low alcohol content. 
Moreover rice vinegar is vinegar, and when used for cooking the 
alcohol content dissipates around 156 degrees Fahrenheit. 

But this is not so true for mirin, which depending on the type of brand 
can contain about 14% school. But it is still lower than rice wine with 
an alcohol content of 20%.  

However similar to what I explained for rice vinegar, if it is ​used for 

cooking​ it should be fine. Due to the high heat expelling the alcohol 
inside. But mirin can be drunk by itself, and is common as part of 
tradition in some parts of Japan. 

Sodium Content 

Generally rice vinegar contains only 5 milligrams of sodium. Hence it 

can be used in cooking for reducing salt and only gives perception of 
added salt.  

While mirin contains 15 milligrams of sodium, it contains a lot more 

salt than rice vinegar. But still not too much to worry about since it 
doesn’t make out a lot of daily value. 

Mirin VS Rice Vinegar Health 

Comparatively there’s not much known health benefits to mirin. 
Meanwhile rice vinegar is great for improving your digestive health 
and can slow down cholesterol build-up on the walls of your blood 
vessels. 

Additionally this ​source​ how’s that rice vinegar can aid in weight loss. 
Also for benefiting your skin and making it radiant.