Boiling cooking liquor such as Japanese sake, white wine, or mirin off completely by boiling on a stovetop is called “Nikiri” (as a noun/ niki-ru as a verb) in Japanese.
Why do you need to boil alcohol off?
The dish that is left with the alcohol flavor without Nikiri has an unpleasant flavor, especially in Japanese cuisine.
Thus, boiling alcohol off in Japanese sake, white wine, or mirin can enhance the ingredient’s flavor and add rich flavor at the same time.
Boiling off alcohol is an easy task since we don’t use much liquor for cooking and alcohol has a low boing point.
Simmering the liquor for about 3 minutes is enough.
When you use liquor for marinating, you don’t have to worry too much about alcohol in the dish since it’ll be burnt off while cooking.
However, it is hard to boil alcohol off completely dependent on the cooking method.
How To Boil Alcohol Off
Boil IT
Alcohol has a boiling point of 173.1 F (78.37 C), the alcohol will evaporate when you just boil it on the stovetop before cooking.
The liquor after boiling alcohol down is mainly used for the sauce or the dish that we want to enhance the delicate flavor.
Allow the liquor to a boil on high/ medium-high heat, and then simmer it for 1-3 minutes.
Also, boil the alcohol down contained in a sauce while cooking the sauce. This way is often used in slow-cooking such as stewing and simmering dishes in Japanese cooking.
Microwave IT
The easiest way is microwaving cooking liquor. It’s handy when you use only a few tablespoons of liquor.
Place cooking liquor in a medium/ large bowl (not too small) and microwave it until the liquor boils. (for about 1 minute/ 1500w) Let boil it for while to remove the alcohol content.