Mirin, an essential element of Japanese cuisine, is a sweet rice wine with less alcohol and a more pronounced natural sweetness than sake. While many grocery-store brands are actually mostly corn syrup, we love Ohsawa Organic Genuine Mirin because it is the real stuff, made using traditional methods by the Kankyo Brewery since 1862. Subtly sweet, mellow and full of umami, this authentic mirin is made by fermenting sweet rice and sake with a special Japanese rice mold for 60 to 90 days then aging the raw product for a full nine months. This condiment both seasons and sweetens, balancing out the salinity of soy-based dishes and adding a lustrous sheen to all of our favorite Asian dishes. And unlike perishable wine or vermouth, mirin can be stored at room temperature in your pantry. Ohsawa Organic Genuine Mirin will add silky sweetness and umami to all sorts of Asian dishes. Try it in our Chicken Teriyaki Donburi or Soy-Steamed Japanese-Style Rice with Mushrooms and Tofu, both of which use mirin in classic Japanese style as a mellow counterpoint to soy sauce. You can also bring out the sweet notes of the Korean chili paste gochujang in our Gochujang-Glazed Potatoes (Gamja Jorim) or Korean Chicken-Vegetable Soup with Noodles. Mirin adds crucial body to the dressing of our Eventide Green Salad with Nori Vinaigrette; the dressing is also great tossed with cold soba noodles for a quick noodle salad or drizzled over poached salmon or shrimp. You can also use mirin as a base for pan sauces: After browning steaks, chops or chicken broths, deglaze the pan with 2 to 3 tablespoons mirin, simmer down by half, and whisk in butter and herbs to taste. For an all-purpose dipping sauce for noodles or dumplings, make mentsuyu: Simply combine ½ cup each mirin and sake and ¼ cup soy sauce (and if you have either, ½ cup of bonito flakes and 3-inch piece of kombu seaweed). Bring to a simmer, then cool (and strain if adding bonito or knob); it’ll store indefinitely in the refrigerator. This sauce can also be blended with miso and diluted to serve as a soup base or boiled to concentrate into a teriyaki glaze.

The nutty, rounded flavor of this vinegar comes from the whole-grain brown rice that is used to make it. Following the Ohsawa Company’s principles of whole, natural foods—founder George Ohsawa revived the modern macrobiotic food movement in the 1960s—the Uchibori family producer that makes this vinegar adheres to a thousand-year-old tradition of aging the vinegar outdoors in earthenware crocks for over 12 months. Highlight the slight nuttiness of Ohsawa Brown Rice Vinegar in quick pickles, like our Japanese-Style Salt-Pickled Radish and Red Onion, or pair it with the sesame and peanut flavors in our Smashed Cucumber Salad. Try a splash on your avocado toast, or if you like rice bowls, season the rice with a splash of vinegar and a pinch of sugar; top with blanched spinach, smoked salmon or trout, and a few toasted sesame seeds or shichimi togarashi, the Japanese chili pepper blend.