When pairing wine with Asian food, go straight to the sauce
From chilli crab to char siu, from Thai fishcakes to teppanyaki, when it comes to matching Asian food with wine, the usual rules don’t always apply, as seen at the Hong Kong International Wine and Spirit Competition
Watching a pair of dancers twirl and leap their way through a performance is enthralling.
To be at their peak, dancers must have great chemistry, be in sync, and bring just the right amount of strength to the partnership. The same applies to pairing wine with food. If a wine is too light, a rich dish will throw it off its feet; too heavy and it will weigh down the whole meal, like a ballerina failing to achieve lift.
Asian cuisines, with their complex and varied flavour combinations, dazzle our palates with fancy footwork. Unlike European wine matching traditions, where pairing is based on the key protein of the meal, such as meat or fish, sauce flavours take the lead in Asia. The “white wine with fish, red wine with meat” rules do not always apply, making pairing a challenge, but not impossible – a shoe-slapping Beaujolais can certainly hold its own against a quick-stepping chilli crab.
The best wine pairings add another dimension to the meal and leave no component waiting in the wings. This judging criteria, applied at Hong Kong’s very own Asian food and wine pairing awards (part of the Cathay Pacific Hong Kong International Wine and Spirit Competition), creates intelligent pairs beyond well-known labels.
In the case of wagyu beef teppanyaki, it was the wine – Eden Hall Shiraz 2015 (South Australia) - not the sauce – that brought spice to the meal. Describing the pairing, judge Chris So from winelist.hk says, “This cool climate shiraz adds spice to the dish, while the fruit and tannin match the richness of the teppanyaki sauce.”
The subtle flavours of Japanese sashimi require a more elegant partner. Tamanohikari Junmai Ginjo Shukon 2015 helps sweep the palate between bites. “It is difficult to find a harmonious pairing for a sashimi dish with three different types of fish,” Chris So points out, adding, “This ginjo sake provides a clean, dry finish so you can enjoy one piece of sashimi after another.”
Palate cleansing powers often make sparkling wine a favourite pairing partner. The style came close to winning best pairing with both Indian dishes this year. Judge Subhash Arora, founder and president of Indian Wine Academy and Delhi Wine Club, says the light fizz in FIOL Prosecco DOC helps bring out the flavours of mushroom and pea masala.
“The slight sweetness of the extra-dry prosecco handles the mild chilli heat of the dish well.” When it came to murg makhani (butter chicken), however, sparkling wine was out-danced by South African shiraz blend, Black Countess 2013. “Murg makhani needs a textured wine. The shiraz in this blend adds spiciness to the dish and grenache and mourvedre provide weight and spice without harsh tannins. Pinotage completes the balancing act,” Arora says.
Every good performance deserves an encore. Audition these duos for a spot at your next Asian banquet.
Debra Meiburg is a Hong Kong-based Master of Wine