Sake is a type of alcoholic seasoning that is popular in many countries with a drinking culture. People have done extensive research on various types of alcohol and found that many of them can be used as seasonings. Among them, sake is particularly effective in enhancing the flavor of stir-fried dishes. It not only adds taste to the dishes, but also doesn't leave a strong alcoholic smell. Additionally, sake is affordable. So what are the ingredients of sake? What are its benefits and effects?
Nutritional Composition of Sake
Sake is made by soaking and fermenting glutinous rice and millet. Its composition is complex, mainly containing alcohol, sugars, dextrin, amino acids, lipids, aldehydes, and more. Sake has a relatively low alcohol content but is rich in lipids and amino acids. It contains 8 essential amino acids for the human body, such as leucine, isoleucine, methionine, threonine, phenylalanine, lysine, and tryptophan.
Benefits and Effects of Sake
Sake enhances flavor
Sake is mainly used as a seasoning to remove the fishy smell from seafood like fish, shrimp, and crab, as well as the gamey smell from meats like beef, lamb, pork, and chicken. It makes seafood and meat more delicious.
Sake adds aroma
The various amino acids in sake combine with sugars to form aromatic aldehydes, creating an enticing fragrance. Sake also contains aromatic lipids, so adding sake to cooking helps eliminate unwanted odors and enhances the aroma of the dishes.
Sake improves texture
When cooking dishes with meat, eggs, or poultry, adding sake allows it to penetrate the tissues and dissolve some of the organic substances in the food, making the texture of the meat, eggs, or poultry more tender.
Sake increases nutrition
Sake contains many vitamins and trace elements. Adding sake to cooking not only enriches the taste of the dishes but also increases their nutritional content.
Methods of Using Sake
Dishes cooked on high heat
For this type of dish, it is important to know when to add sake. You should add it when the oil temperature in the pan is at its highest.
For example, when stir-frying cauliflower, add sake right after the cauliflower is stir-fried. When deep-frying prawns, add them to the oil as soon as it is hot, and then immediately add sake.
Dishes cooked on low heat or simmered
These dishes require longer cooking times and simmering. Both the sake and ingredients should be added at the same time and cooked together.
For example, when simmering large bones, add the bones and sake together and cook.
Sautéing meat dishes
Meat dishes contain varying amounts of amine substances, which have a fishy smell. Before cooking, soak the meat in sake for a period of time. This allows the ethanol to penetrate the meat, dissolve the amine substances, and evaporate them along with the ethanol during cooking, eliminating the fishy taste.
For example, stir-fried beef, lean meat, etc.
