Why you should give your cooking a splash of booze

If you've ever wondered what gives a dish its wow factor, it might've been cooked with alcohol.

Some dishes wouldn't be the same without the complex flavours of booze, like this dish of veal with mushrooms, in a sauce of calvados or brandy. Source: Alan Benson

I'm not an overly indulgent cook. I cut fat from meat here and there and reduce the sugar content when making desserts. But when a recipe asks for booze, my philosophy is more like 'why not pour it in?'.

Asian cuisine uses rice wine quite liberally in many of its dishes. Indeed, there's a recipe that uses an entire bottle of rice wine to turn broth into a rather rich, silky sesame oil and chicken soup. My uncle, who loves eating more than drinking, even comes back for more.

Michelle Tchea's go-to winter soup is a Taiwanese drunken ginger and sesame oil chicken soup. Source: Getty Images

Contrary to what many believe, when a boozy beverage is used in cooking, its alcohol content doesn't fully evaporate, even after hours. I'm relieved to hear this; what's the point of adding good drinking quality French Bordeaux wine or a 21-year-old single malt whisky to a cake or sauce when you can't taste it? 

Scientific research has even shown that food can still contain substantial amounts of alcohol after cooking.

We are sold on this chocolate roulade with brandy-soaked strawberries and marzipan cream. Source: Feast/Ben Dearnley

Enough science and back to why booze elevates a dish. In the US, fourth-generation pitmasters used it in their secret sauces to baste whole hogs and even add to brines or marinades. In Sweden, curing salmon with dill and salt is great, but my chef friends cure it with Aquavit or Vodka to really give it that 'wow' factor. And over in Japan, my friend and chef, Hisafumi Nakae, tells me that the rice wine known as sake is important in many Japanese dishes.

Nakae, who lives in Hyogo in the Kansai region in Japan, says, "Making sake has been around for more than 2,000 years in Japan, for praying to Gods, drinking and also cooking."

He explains Japanese people use sake to neutralise strong smells like the odour of fish or to add more flavour to recipes.

"Sake has a sweetness and umami, which is perfect to balance the acidity, salty and bitter taste of many Japanese dishes."

Sake has a sweetness and umami, which is perfect to balance the acidity, salty and bitter taste of many Japanese dishes.

Universally, alcohol is loved and used by many cultures. Australian chef and media personality Guy Grossi, who's based in Melbourne, says wine is used a lot in Italian dishes too.

Grossi says, "We love using wine in our cooking, using both white and red depending on the dish. We use red in classic braises like osso buco or bolognese to add richness and depth of flavour and aromats that you don't get from using just stock or water."

He says it's important to add the wine early to sofrito to give it time to evaporate so that it doesn't taste too strong.

"Make sure to save a glass for yourself to enjoy with your dish, very important!" he says.

So, whether you're making a rich gravy, steaming mussels or maybe making a ripper foster, add booze to make it that extra special and memorable.