Cooking sake
Rice wine for cooking, usually lightly salted, that softens fishy and meaty odours and gives sauces a mild, rounded depth.
Cooking sake is rice wine that has had salt added so that it is sold as a seasoning rather than a drink. It is found in Asian grocers or by mail order, and occasionally in the Asian aisle of larger supermarkets.
Substitute:
Drinking sake, dry sherry or dry white wine do the same job but bring no salt, so add a little extra salt; mirin is not a substitute, as it is distinctly sweet.