tannins & chilli, a real no-go
I was catching-up on my reading and discovered a little article for matching wines with Thai food. (Caterer & Hotelkeeper, September 2007)
Apparently, it’s better to drink beer or water with Thai food. Full stop.
Or to drink alcohol before or after eating, not during. But if you are looking to drink wines, stick to the whites. Unless the reds are soft, say American Pinot Noirs; something soft and fruity rather than earthy and rich.
German whites were favoured. The Riesling Kabinett a favourite on the list. The slight sweetness of the wine reduces the heat of chillies.
Coconut is seen as a big "no-no" for wines, too. The fat in the coconut destroys any flavours, subtleties in the wines.
Gewürztraminer works successfully with banana blossom salad with chili jam. Hot. The flavours of the dish were surprisingly enhanced by the wine.
A regular on a Thai restaurant menu - Green mango salad. With shallots, fresh mint, toasted coconuts, dried prawns and Thai basil, this dish goes very well with an Australian Riesling (Jim Barry, Florita, 2005). This wine also got a thumbs-up with the stir-fried cured pork salad & rice. The salad contained fresh ginger, garlic, chilies and coriander. The wine "...picked out the smokiness of the wok..." and "cleaned everything-up..."
Um.
Comments
When i prepare a spicy meal i open up a bottle of beer,
greets liffey
Even more so with sushi. Yum.
I think it's a bad idea to drink alcohol before eating, though, as its way easier to get drunk that way (I know from personal experience).
I'm not knowledgeable when it comes to wines, but I've read a few articles here and there (and watched Sideways... uh...); I am under the impression that the general rule of thumb is that you drink reds with steaks and red meats, and white wine with fish...
This whole world of wine-tasting and combinations with food is really interesting to me, but its a bit expensive for my tastes. I suppose I'll just have to do with coffee instead. Heh.