Food Pairings
Chinese Rice Wine Food Pairing Guide
There is no question about it: food and beverage pairings are becoming more and more popular, and it is almost a requirement to know what food pairs with what beverage, be it wine, beer, or even Chinese Rice Wine. But food pairing is very subjective, and is unique to each palette. Hopefully these basic flavor profile pairings will help with pairing Chinese Rice Wine and other beverages with your favorite dishes.
Sweetness: Find it on the tip of your tongue
Sweeter wines, like Reisling, Gewurztraminer, Viogner, or a semi-sweet Chinese Rice Wine can pair nicely with a variety of foods. Either compliment the sweetness by pairing it with a dish slightly less sweet (the wine should always be sweeter than the food), or foods that are contrasting in flavor.
Examples of sweeter dishes: Sweet Chili Glazed Shrimp, Pork Chops with Apple/Raisin Compote
Examples of contrasting dishes: Spicy Thai/Asian foods, Smoked Gouda or Jalepeno Jack Fondue
Acidity: Your cheeks will tell you
When you drink a more acidic wine, like a Sauvignon Blanc, you’ll feel a distinct sharp bite on your cheeks and in the back of your mouth, that will involuntarily give you a puckering reflex. To pair food with an acidic beverage, foods with distinct, sharp flavors work nicely.
Food pairings for acidic wines: Arugula salad with goat cheese and balsamic dressing, Fruit salad, Raw Oysters with cocktail or lemon sauce.
Full bodied/Tanic wines: Match the weight
Think of full bodied wines like drinking whole milk: they coat your mouth, they are rich, hearty, and satisfying. Whether matching full bodied white wines, like Chardonnay’s, red wines, like Cabernet, or Chinese Rice Wine, like the Emperor’s Own 10 Year, the key is matching the weight. The bigger the wine, the bigger the food.
Food pairings for Emperor’s Own 10 Year: Beef & Broccoli with Oyster Sauce, Mushroom Risotto, Crab dipped in butter
Food pairings for full bodied white wine: Baked Brie, Artichokes & Butter, Cornbread
Food pairings for full bodied/tanic red wines: London Broil, Dark Chocolate, Pasta with Meat Sauce
Chinese Rice Wine: A unique flavor for food pairing
The Chinese have been drinking Chinese Rice Wine for centuries, and drinking it with food. While it is a unique flavor to most palettes, food pairing can still be wonderful and fun with the varieties of Chinese Rice Wines. Chinese Rice Wines have an earthy, woody, intense flavor, and drink very well on their own as an aperitif of digestief. But, with the right foods, they can be served with many meals.
Food pairing suggestions for Chinese Rice Wine: Beef & Broccoli with Oyster or Worsheshire Sauce, Mushroom Risotto, Crab dipped in butter, Olive Tapinade, Oysters
