The best way to heat Japanese sake
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You are at home on a cool evening, and have a nice spread of sushi or other Japanese food for you and your friends, and you want a good carafe (or three) of hot sake to go along with it. Is there some secret method the restaurants use to heat their sake? Do you just throw it in the microwave and nuke away? What is THE best way to heat Japanese sake?
When I first started serving (and enjoying) sake at home, I was definitely in the “nuke it” camp. Just put it in a measuring cup or other microwave-safe dish, heat it to near boiling, and pour it into your more decorative decanter for serving. I didn’t realize it at the time, but this was destroying the flavor and aroma profiles of the sake for a couple of reasons: 1) it was heating up too fast and 2) it was almost certainly getting too hot.
The ideal temperature when you are serving sake warm is around 104 °F (40 °C). But how do you get it there? Well, you have some options. There are two main methods to heat your sake at home; one a bit more involved and complex, and one simpler method that will still help you avoid the mistakes I was making.
Hot Bath Method (Complex)
- Fill your typical sake decanter and set aside (but not too full – remember the sake will expand as it heats so you need to leave some room at the top so it doesn’t overflow).
- Fill a pot of water to a level where about half to two-thirds of your sake decanter is underwater when you place it in the pot.
- Remove your sake decanter and set aside again, then heat the water bath to boiling, and turn off the heat.
- Place your sake decanter in the hot water for 2-3 minutes, and it should be at your ideal temperature. The first few times you do this, a cooking thermometer is a great tool to get your specific process down pat. As your sake heats, you can monitor the temperature as it increases, take note of how long it took to get to 104 F, and be ready for next time.
Microwave Method (Simple)
As I mentioned, typically microwaving is not recommended as it raises the temperature too quickly and too high. But I figured out that you can still microwave your sake and avoid both problems.
- Start by pouring some sake into a microwave-safe container such as a heavy glass measuring cup or coffee cup.
- One method is to set your microwave power setting to 50/60%, taking longer to heat your sake. That way, you aren’t blasting it up to 104 °F in under a minute, but rather taking the recommended 2-3 minutes heating time.
Bill’s Method:
- Another method that worked really well for us (we now call this “Bill’s Method”!) is to still use 100% power, but heat your sake intermittently. Start with 30 seconds, and give it a rest – about 15 seconds. Go another 30, and rest. Finish it off with another 30 seconds or to your desired temperature.
A cooking thermometer is especially useful for these simple methods as microwave power levels and heating speeds can vary considerably. Test out your methods and monitor your heat throughout, write down what worked, and you are all set.
In summary
Note that not all types of sake should be heated. There are some sake that are best served chilled. But once you are ready to heat the sake, the method you choose is really up to you. We did some blind taste tests at our house and found that these slower methods of heating sake produced good results. The microwave method is certainly easier if you are alone and just want a bit of sake, or drinking sake with friends in volume (not judging) and need to keep the hot sake flowing. The hot bath method is more involved, but not exactly complicated, and can be fun during meal prep as guests are often hanging around the kitchen anyway and can become part of the process.
Great Hot Sake Sets
