Is Shochu an acceptable alternative to Awamori?
Some recipes I was looking at (Okinawan) use Awamori, but I can't find it. I can find various forms of Japanese vodka (Shochu), and sake. Would Shochu be the closest to Awamori?
EDIT: Was looking at this recipe specifically - Rafute (Okinawan Braised Pork Belly) ラフテ
Best Answer
I would say yes, both are distilled rice alcohol.
There might be some differences in the raw (uncooked) alcohol, but if used in a recipe and cooked, the differences will be less.
Curious, what recipes are you looking at ? it might help us find a better alternative if it exists.
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What is the difference between awamori and shochu?
The main difference with shochu is that awamori is always made using long-grain Indica rice as opposed to the short-grain Japonica rice that's often used in the production of shochu. Awamori also relies exclusively on black koji to convert the starches in the rice into sugar.Is awamori a shochu?
Production. Although awamori is a distilled rice liquor, it differs from Japanese shochu in several ways. Awamori is made in a single fermentation while shochu usually uses two fermentations.Is awamori the same as sake?
Etymological considerations aside, as mentioned above, awamori is a beverage distilled from rice. It differs from sake, mainland Japan's indigenous drink, in that sake is brewed, not distilled.Can you cook with shochu?
I find that shochu (a Japanese distilled drink) tends to make the chicken more tender and also gives it a nice aroma. I use rice shochu, but other types of shochu or even sake can work with this dish, too. Just put the ingredients in a tagine-style donabe and let it do the work for you.Lo shochu e l'awamori: i distillati tradizionali del Giappone (terza e ultima parte)
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Answer 2
Yes, and in fact awamori is considered a type of shochu in mainland Japan. Most distilled rice wines (even Chinese or Korean) with a higher alcohol content will work (awamori is within the 30%-45% range, so you don't want too low).
The only difference between awamori and other shochu (and other East Asian distilled rice liquors) is that it is made with indica rather than the more common japonica rice. However, when used in a dish, there really isn't a huge difference.
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