Pair 10 More Asian Dishes with Fantastic French Wines
Jan 01, 2018
Dim sum is a Cantonese-cuisine-favourite for both Asians and non-Asians, its varieties including har gow, siew mai and crispy prawn dumplings. These delicate seafood dim sums call for a minerally sauvignon blanc, such as the Jeanguillon. The acidity of the wine balances the seafood perfectly, while beautiful citrus aromas engulf the dumpling skin.
Dancing Fish, the Malay-Indo signature dish of the award-winning restaurant with the same name, boasts its crispy, golden skin and soft white meat. A blend of sauvignon blanc, muscalle and loin de l’oeil, the white Gaillac will bring out the flavour of the fish meat through its smooth acidity and fruity, mineral structure.
Rice vermicelli (or bee hoon) is a type of noodle that can be cooked in many different ways. Celebrity chef Sam Leong serves his signature dish, tiger prawn rice vermicelli with Chinese wine in superior chicken broth. Try the dish with a fruity and aroma Galtier, which brings rich notes of peach, pineapple and grapefruit that adds complexity to the prawn and chicken broth flavours.
Char siew, or “barbecue meat”, is known for its red colour and classic sauce that is sweet, salty and sticky. To match the powerful flavours of the meat and the sauce, the red Galtier is the perfect candidate. The robust blend of syrah, grenache and mourvedre gives off an intense fruitiness and spiciness that can bring out the sticky texture and pleasant sweetness of the meat.
A Taiwanese favourite, mei cai kou rou boasts a beautiful pairing between the tangy, luxurious braised pork belly flavours and sour, refreshing mustard vegetables. A medium-bodied red wine with some spicy and smoky notes will balance the strong taste of the meat and bring out the flavours of the vegetables: Côtes du Rhône Orby, a blend of syrah, grenache, cinsault, will do the trick.
Image from @dingdongsg
The cold crab with delicate, sweet meat is filled with creamy, golden roe that melt in your mouth. The perfect wine to pair both the meat and roe is the Blanc Les Saucours from Domaine Louis Chenu: a blend of chardonnay and pinot blanc. Like the crab, the wine has citrus and pineapple notes as well as buttery, creamy qualities that compliment the crab flavours.
Cooked in Teochew style, the lobster porridge at Wan He Lou breathes a wonderful umami flavour heightened by the lobster roe, while the firm and juicy lobster meat gives a more solid texture overall. The Ballon sauvignon blanc will be able to add an interesting acidic, fruity aroma to the porridge and give a new dimension to the combination of porridge and wine.
Lee Fun Nam Kee’s signature soya sauce is thick and rich and the natural taste of chicken blends in smoothly with the sauce. To balance this powerful sauce, the Ballon cabernet sauvignon is ample and distinct enough to enjoy the best of both food and wine. The myriad of black fruits and elegant tannins of the wine are sure to give a pleasant finish to the earthy, salty soya sauce chicken.
Roast crackling pork is a Cantonese BBQ favourite, characterized by its deadly soft meat and crispy skin, and is often paired with yellow mustard. The Haut Bessac rosé (Bordeaux) is a perfect partner-in-crime. Its fresh fruitiness blends well with the delicate pork meat and tones down the spicy yellow mustard.
Under the law of Singapore, intoxicating liquor must not be sold or supplied to a minor in the course of business.
