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Pair Wine with Chinese Food – Braised Beef Brisket with Wonton noodle

by Yats Leisure
Published by Clark Philippines on September 29, 2009

Challenges and strategies

Pairing wine with Chinese food has always been regarded as a tricky if not impossible proposition.  There are three reasons to support this anxiety.

(1)   Chinese food is too well integrated – most dishes are complete with balancing components of starch, vegetables and meat – leaving very little role for a wine to play in that equation.

(2)    Traditional Chinese food does not use Western wine in the cooking.  The easy-way-out of drinking the same type of wine that is used to cook the food isn’t all that useful here.

(3)    This one is actually the ultimate killer really.  It is a psychological barrier.  A lot of people approach this problem with a pre-conceived notion that wine won’t really work with Chinese food.  A negative attitude is the single most challenging element in this game.

The other important factor – weight – must be matched appropriately especially with the liquid part of the dish.  A lot of heavy dishes in Chinese cuisine also come with high flavor intensity.  Finding a wine with muscles and weight is not a problem.  What is challenging is to find one of those that has good acidity and is not tannic.  This kind of combinations happens mostly with very good wine only.  With so little faith in wine pairing for Chinese food, it is not often that people open a good bottle for a Chinese meal.

Another factor that comes very much into play not necessarily in wine selection but more in the fine-tuning of food preparation is the serving temperature.  Some Chinese dishes are designed to be taken steaming hot.  There is no wine that is designed to match that kind of serving temperatures.  Ice-cold beers have always been preferred probably more as a role of a fire-extinguisher.  Often these dishes are avoided in wine-paired dinners and when they make their way onto the menu, the serving temperatures have to be reduced a little.

This dinner comprises of a good mix of heavier recipes and some other that are designed to bring out the natural flavors of the key ingredients.  A few dishes have more than one dominating components which means the wine will only pair well with one of those components, not two.  Probably the best way to enjoy those courses is to take a bite of the food that is the target for that pairing, enjoying it with a sip of the wine, and then move on to the other (dominating) component which often cleanses the palate for another go at it again.

Yats Wine Cellars held a wine-paired Chinese dinner recently in Manila Philippines.  This is what was served:

Deep-fried King Prawns Balls Coated with Cornflakes

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1998 Meursault, Chateau De Guettes, Francois Parent

The Meursault was chosen primarily because the wine was the star in this act and the Prawn Balls was just the condiment to the course.

Whole roasted Duck with fresh mango fruits

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1995 Morey-Saint-Denis, Chartron et Frebuchet

Pan-fried Black Pepper Beef Steak

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1993 Gigondas, Las Haute Boissiere, La Cave Gigondas des Vignerons

Fried Stuffed Crab Shell

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2006 J B Riesling, Rheingau Germany

Roasted Suckling Pig Skin

Served on a bed of Chinese Pan Cake

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1992 Duas Quintas Douro Reserva, Ramos Pinto

Braised Home-made Tofu with 3 kinds of Mushrooms

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1999 Cote du Rhone Blanc, Guigal

Saute Lamb in Satay Sauce

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2003 Barolo, Ricossa Piedmonte Italy

For more information, please visit www.YatsRestaurant.com or email Wine@Yats-International.com.

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