Sherry substitute in recipe?



L

Lululemon

Guest
Here's a recipe I found on Epicurous...I don't have Sherry and can't imagine buying any just for a
recipe - we're a wine and beer house.

What can I substitue for Sherry? Can I skip it? Will Mirin work? Do you have a better Beef &
Broccoli recipe? Sorry - too many questions.

Any suggestions would be appreciated! Thanks, Melanie

BEEF AND BROCCOLI STIR FRY

1/4 cup soy sauce
2/4 cup dry Sherry 1 tablespoon honey 1 tablespoon (packed) chopped garlic 2 teaspoons grated orange
peel 1 pound flank steak, cut diagonally across grain into thin strips

1 large head broccoli, cut into florets

2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 tablespoon cornstarch Cooked white rice

Whisk first 5 ingredients in large bowl. Add meat; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate at least 1
hour and up to 4 hours.

Blanch broccoli in large pot of boiling salted water 2 minutes. Drain. Rinse under cold water;
drain well.

Heat oil in heavy large wok or skillet over high heat. Drain meat well, reserving marinade. Add
cornstarch to reserved marinade and mix until smooth; set aside. Add meat to wok and stir-fry until
almost cooked through, about 2 minutes. Add broccoli and stir-fry until crisp-tender, about 2
minutes. Add reserved marinade mixture and boil until sauce thickens and coats meat and broccoli,
stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve over rice.

Serves 4.

Bon Appétit November 1995
 
Lululemon wrote:
> Here's a recipe I found on Epicurous...I don't have Sherry and can't imagine buying any just for
> a recipe
(snip)
> Thanks, Melanie
>
You can probably find a small bottle of sherry, doesn't have to be expensive. Then if you find you
like the beef & broccoli recipe you'll have it handy to use again. Doesn't require refrigeration or
special storage. Go for it!

Jill
 
"Lululemon" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Here's a recipe I found on Epicurous...I don't have Sherry and can't imagine buying any just for a
> recipe - we're a wine and beer house.
>
> What can I substitue for Sherry? Can I skip it? Will Mirin work? Do you have a better Beef &
> Broccoli recipe? Sorry - too many questions.
>
> Any suggestions would be appreciated! Thanks, Melanie

In a pinch I've substituted white wine, sake, or even chicken broth for sherry...they work in a
pinch but the flavor isn't quite right IMHO. So I keep a bottle of cheap dry sherry just for
cooking, it stores fine at room temp and can be had for under $5 a bottle. If I liked sherry I might
go for a more expensive bottle but the el cheapo Taylor brand seems to work fine for my Chinese
stlye cooking needs.

If you really don't want to pick up a bottle of sherry, by all means substitute some other variety
of liquid for it, otherwise the sauce will be too salty & too thick. The recipe is one that I've
used with success on several occasions.

Jessica
>
> BEEF AND BROCCOLI STIR FRY
>
> 1/4 cup soy sauce
> 1/4 cup dry Sherry 1 tablespoon honey 1 tablespoon (packed) chopped garlic 2 teaspoons grated
> orange peel 1 pound flank steak, cut diagonally across grain into thin strips
>
> 1 large head broccoli, cut into florets
>
> 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 tablespoon cornstarch Cooked white rice
>
> Whisk first 5 ingredients in large bowl. Add meat; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate at least 1
> hour and up to 4 hours.
>
> Blanch broccoli in large pot of boiling salted water 2 minutes. Drain. Rinse under cold water;
> drain well.
>
> Heat oil in heavy large wok or skillet over high heat. Drain meat well, reserving marinade. Add
> cornstarch to reserved marinade and mix until smooth; set aside. Add meat to wok and stir-fry
> until almost cooked through, about 2 minutes. Add broccoli and stir-fry until crisp-tender,
> about 2 minutes. Add reserved marinade mixture and boil until sauce thickens and coats meat and
> broccoli, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve
> over rice.
>
> Serves 4.
>
>
> Bon Appétit November 1995
 
In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] (Lululemon) wrote:

> Here's a recipe I found on Epicurous...I don't have Sherry and can't imagine buying any just for a
> recipe - we're a wine and beer house.
>
> What can I substitue for Sherry? Can I skip it? Will Mirin work? Do

But Sherry *is* a wine! Mirin would work perfectly though, as long as it isn't too sweet. Any dry
white wine would also work.

--
Dan Abel Sonoma State University AIS [email protected]
 
For the most part, sherry can be purchased in small bottles and can be used in an awful lot of
recipes, i.e. onion soup, gravy, etc.

Just buy a small bottle-you will use it.

"Lululemon" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Here's a recipe I found on Epicurous...I don't have Sherry and can't imagine buying any just for a
> recipe - we're a wine and beer house.
>
> What can I substitue for Sherry? Can I skip it? Will Mirin work? Do you have a better Beef &
> Broccoli recipe? Sorry - too many questions.
>
> Any suggestions would be appreciated! Thanks, Melanie
>
> BEEF AND BROCCOLI STIR FRY
>
> 1/4 cup soy sauce
> 1/4 cup dry Sherry 1 tablespoon honey 1 tablespoon (packed) chopped garlic 2 teaspoons grated
> orange peel 1 pound flank steak, cut diagonally across grain into thin strips
>
> 1 large head broccoli, cut into florets
>
> 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 tablespoon cornstarch Cooked white rice
>
> Whisk first 5 ingredients in large bowl. Add meat; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate at least 1
> hour and up to 4 hours.
>
> Blanch broccoli in large pot of boiling salted water 2 minutes. Drain. Rinse under cold water;
> drain well.
>
> Heat oil in heavy large wok or skillet over high heat. Drain meat well, reserving marinade. Add
> cornstarch to reserved marinade and mix until smooth; set aside. Add meat to wok and stir-fry
> until almost cooked through, about 2 minutes. Add broccoli and stir-fry until crisp-tender,
> about 2 minutes. Add reserved marinade mixture and boil until sauce thickens and coats meat and
> broccoli, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve
> over rice.
>
> Serves 4.
>
>
> Bon Appétit November 1995
 
"Dan Abel" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> In article <[email protected]>, [email protected]
> (Lululemon) wrote:
>
> > Here's a recipe I found on Epicurous...I don't have Sherry and can't imagine buying any just for
> > a recipe - we're a wine and beer house.
> >
> > What can I substitue for Sherry? Can I skip it? Will Mirin work? Do
>
>
> But Sherry *is* a wine! Mirin would work perfectly though, as long as it isn't too sweet. Any dry
> white wine would also work.

Sherry is a fortified wine. While any dry white wine might work (I don't know the recipe in
question), it certainly won't taste the same.

Sherry, like other fortified wines, has a really long shelf life. Keep a bottle in your cupboard for
cooking purposes.

Hal Laurent Baltimore
 
"jmcquown" <[email protected]> wrote in
news:[email protected]:

> Lululemon wrote:
>> Here's a recipe I found on Epicurous...I don't have Sherry and can't imagine buying any just for
>> a recipe
> (snip)
>> Thanks, Melanie
>>
> You can probably find a small bottle of sherry, doesn't have to be expensive. Then if you find you
> like the beef & broccoli recipe you'll have it handy to use again. Doesn't require refrigeration
> or special storage. Go for it!
>
> Jill
>
>
>

Booze is taxed to the max in Canada. I buy 1 or 2 large bottles of Sherry a year for cooking
purposes. It takes a long time for sherry to go bad. And a cheaper but nice tasting large bottle of
sherry can cost as low as 8-10 bucks Canadian. Sherry works well in most soup, gravies and chinese
dishes by the way. I spend more on black peppercorns in a year than I spend on sherry. Go mad and
buy the sherry.

--
Once during Prohibition I was forced to live for days on nothing but food and water.
--------
FIELDS, W. C.
 
Kswck wrote:

> For the most part, sherry can be purchased in small bottles and can be used in an awful lot of
> recipes, i.e. onion soup, gravy, etc.
>
> Just buy a small bottle-you will use it.

Small bottles of sherry? I have never seen it in anything other than a 26 oz bottle.
 
hahabogus wrote:

> Booze is taxed to the max in Canada. I buy 1 or 2 large bottles of Sherry a year for cooking
> purposes. It takes a long time for sherry to go bad. And a cheaper but nice tasting large bottle
> of sherry can cost as low as 8-10 bucks Canadian. Sherry works well in most soup, gravies and
> chinese dishes by the way. I spend more on black peppercorns in a year than I spend on sherry. Go
> mad and buy the sherry.

Too true, both the booze taxes here and the cost of peppercorns. Even so, I suggest going for the
good stuff. Decent sherry is not much more expensive than the domestic sherry swill. I have never
learned to appreciate sherry as a drink, but my wife loves good dry sherry and we use quite a bit of
it in cooking.
 
"Lululemon" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Here's a recipe I found on Epicurous...I don't have Sherry and can't imagine buying any just for a
> recipe - we're a wine and beer house.
>
> What can I substitue for Sherry? Can I skip it? Will Mirin work? Do you have a better Beef &
> Broccoli recipe? Sorry - too many questions.
>
> Any suggestions would be appreciated! Thanks, Melanie
>
> BEEF AND BROCCOLI STIR FRY
>
> 1/4 cup soy sauce
> 1/4 cup dry Sherry 1 tablespoon honey 1 tablespoon (packed) chopped garlic 2 teaspoons grated
> orange peel 1 pound flank steak, cut diagonally across grain into thin strips
>
> 1 large head broccoli, cut into florets
>
> 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 tablespoon cornstarch Cooked white rice
>
> Whisk first 5 ingredients in large bowl. Add meat; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate at least 1
> hour and up to 4 hours.
>
> Blanch broccoli in large pot of boiling salted water 2 minutes. Drain. Rinse under cold water;
> drain well.
>
> Heat oil in heavy large wok or skillet over high heat. Drain meat well, reserving marinade. Add
> cornstarch to reserved marinade and mix until smooth; set aside. Add meat to wok and stir-fry
> until almost cooked through, about 2 minutes. Add broccoli and stir-fry until crisp-tender,
> about 2 minutes. Add reserved marinade mixture and boil until sauce thickens and coats meat and
> broccoli, stirring constantly, about 2 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve
> over rice.
>
> Serves 4.
>
>
> Bon Appétit November 1995

In many Chinese recipes dry sherry is already a substitute for Chinese Cooking Wine, also called
shao shing (various spellings). I can buy this in specialty supermarkets and it is not expensive,
however YMMV. If you are going to do much cooking of this style I would invest in a bottle as it
lasts a long time.

If you don't want to (or can't) buy shao shing or sherry then mirin would do but take care as it is
quite sweet whereas the others are not, the sugar will alter the flavour balance of the dish. In a
pinch a dry white wine would give you something like it. In my opinion sake is probably closer to
shao shing in taste than sherry or mirin.

David
 
"Dave Smith" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
>
> Kswck wrote:
>
> > For the most part, sherry can be purchased in small bottles and can be
used
> > in an awful lot of recipes, i.e. onion soup, gravy, etc.
> >
> > Just buy a small bottle-you will use it.
>
> Small bottles of sherry? I have never seen it in anything other than a 26
oz
> bottle.
>
>

Ask at your local liquor store-not one of the big chains. Usually they have it, or can tell you
where to get it. Even a 26 oz bottle of the cheap stuff isn't particularly expensive. My last bottle
of cheap sherry was $4.99, 26 oz bottle.
 
On Sat, 07 Feb 2004 13:15:57 GMT, "Kswck"
<[email protected]> wrote:

>
> Ask at your local liquor store-not one of the big chains. Usually they have it, or can tell you
> where to get it. Even a 26 oz bottle of the cheap stuff isn't particularly expensive. My last
> bottle of cheap sherry was $4.99, 26 oz bottle.
>
Additionally, it will last practically forever - so size doesn't matter in this case.

;-)

Practice safe eating - always use condiments
 
On Fri, 06 Feb 2004 14:27:06 -0800, [email protected] (Dan Abel) wrote:

>In article <[email protected]>, [email protected]
>(Lululemon) wrote:
>
>> Here's a recipe I found on Epicurous...I don't have Sherry and can't imagine buying any just for
>> a recipe - we're a wine and beer house.
>>
>> What can I substitue for Sherry? Can I skip it? Will Mirin work? Do
>
>
>But Sherry *is* a wine! Mirin would work perfectly though, as long as it isn't too sweet. Any dry
>white wine would also work.

i thought all mirin was sweetened? i would not use it as a substitute, at least not one-to one.
maybe a couple tbls in some beer.

but yes, buy the sherry.

your pal, blake
 
blake murphy wrote:

> On Fri, 06 Feb 2004 14:27:06 -0800, [email protected] (Dan Abel) wrote:
>
>
>>In article <[email protected]>, [email protected]
>>(Lululemon) wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Here's a recipe I found on Epicurous...I don't have Sherry and can't imagine buying any just for
>>>a recipe - we're a wine and beer house.
>>>
>>>What can I substitue for Sherry? Can I skip it? Will Mirin work? Do
>>
>>
>>But Sherry *is* a wine! Mirin would work perfectly though, as long as it isn't too sweet. Any dry
>>white wine would also work.
>
>
> i thought all mirin was sweetened? i would not use it as a substitute, at least not one-to one.
> maybe a couple tbls in some beer.
>
> but yes, buy the sherry.
>
> your pal, blake
Sherry is a type of wine (fortified,) and most people in the USA probably never tasted the real
McCoy, except for that disgusting **** from California which resembles real Sherry like apples
and oranges.

One entry found for sherry. Main Entry: sher·ry Pronunciation: 'sher-E Function: noun Inflected
Form(s): plural sherries Etymology: alteration of earlier sherris (taken as plural), from Xeres (now
Jerez), Spain
: a Spanish fortified wine with a distinctive nutty flavor; also : a
similar wine produced elsewhere

© 2004 Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

See: http://www.vivaspain.com.au/foodandwinestore/sherries.html

--
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Dum spiro, spero. (Cicero) As long as I breathe, I hope.
 
Dave Smith wrote:

> WardNA wrote:
>
>
>>>Sherry is a type of wine (fortified,) and most people in the USA probably never tasted the real
>>>McCoy, except for that disgusting ****
>>
>>>from California which resembles real Sherry like apples and oranges.
>>
>>Actually, real sherry is widely imported, although many people may not know that Harvey's Bristol
>>Cream is genuine Spanish sherry from Jerez.
>
>
> It is the same here in Canada. Some of the local wineries have something they pass off as sherry.
> Our local liquor stores have 4 or 5 domestic sherries, but carry at least a dozen imported
> sherries. I have tried some of the better sherries without ever acquiring a taste for it, but my
> wife loves the dry stuff., especially Dry Sack.
>
>
>

Sherry imported from Spain usually has lost most of its fine nuances because of prolonged storage,
et cetera.

Best Sherry I've ever had was in Andalusia, Spain. It's actually an art to pour it from a height,
which aerates the liquid.

Traveling through Spain is like traveling through various tiny countries; different dialects (I dare
to say languages,) foods, drinks, et cetera. Even people; you can appreciate the arab features in
many Spanish from the South (Andalusia.)

http://www.wineandfoodassociates.com/sherry2.html

Rich
--
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Dum spiro, spero. (Cicero) As long as I breathe, I hope.
 
Richard Periut wrote:

>
> Sherry imported from Spain usually has lost most of its fine nuances because of prolonged storage,
> et cetera.

I don't know about the finer nuances of Sherry. All I know is than when I drink it I have a liquid
in my mouth that is not wet. I just can't get used to that. I often have a small sip of it when I
pour a glass for my wife, but I just can't get into it. I know that lots of people like the stuff,
and they are welcome to drink it. But for me, it is good only for cooking.
 
Dave Smith wrote:

> Richard Periut wrote:
>
>
>>Sherry imported from Spain usually has lost most of its fine nuances because of prolonged storage,
>>et cetera.
>
>
> I don't know about the finer nuances of Sherry. All I know is than when I drink it I have a liquid
> in my mouth that is not wet. I just can't get used to that. I often have a small sip of it when I
> pour a glass for my wife, but I just can't get into it. I know that lots of people like the stuff,
> and they are welcome to drink it. But for me, it is good only for cooking.
>
>
More for us : )

--
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Dum spiro, spero. (Cicero) As long as I breathe, I hope.
 
On Sun, 08 Feb 2004 17:20:59 GMT, Richard Periut
<[email protected]> wrote:

> Sherry is a type of wine (fortified,) and most people in the USA probably never tasted the real
> McCoy, except for that disgusting **** from California which resembles real Sherry like apples
> and oranges.
>

That "disgusting California ****" is just fine for cooking. Save the imported stuff for
genteel sipping.

Practice safe eating - always use condiments
 
sf wrote:

> On Sun, 08 Feb 2004 17:20:59 GMT, Richard Periut <[email protected]> wrote:
>
>
>
>> Sherry is a type of wine (fortified,) and most people in the USA probably never tasted the real
>> McCoy, except for that disgusting **** from California which resembles real Sherry like apples
>> and oranges.
>>
>
>
> That "disgusting California ****" is just fine for cooking. Save the imported stuff for genteel
> sipping.
>
>
>
> Practice safe eating - always use condiments
I follow a simple rule: I only use wine or sherry in cooking, that's fit to drink otherwise. Don't
ruin a good meal with that cheap stuff.

Rich

--
---------------------------------------------------------------------

Dum spiro, spero. (Cicero) As long as I breathe, I hope.
 
On Sun, 08 Feb 2004 23:21:32 GMT, sf <[email protected]> wrote:

>On 08 Feb 2004 21:17:41 GMT, [email protected] (WardNA) wrote:
>
>> >Sherry imported from Spain usually has lost most of its fine nuances because of prolonged
>> >storage, et cetera.
>>
>> First time I've heard that one. The whole point to developing fortified wines in the first place
>> was to stabilize them so they could survive the trauma of export.
>>
>He's a sherry snob.
>
>
>Practice safe eating - always use condiments

o.k., so you're using sherry. two tbsp or a quarter cup, unless the stuff tastes like gasoline,
you're not going to ruin your dish.

your pal, blake