Match of the week
Thai lime and coconut chicken curry with Aussie riesling
I know from past experience that Aussie riesling goes brilliantly with Thai food. Here is the latest proof.
The dish was one from Cook’s new Pan-Asian range (Cook is a UK frozen meals supplier) and I have to say very good it was too with really authentic Thai flavours - not hot but deeply aromatic.
The wine in this case was Yalumba’s 2023 Y series riesling which is only 10.5% ABV but intense enough to add a delicious extra layer of lime to the curry. (Aussie riesling has a particularly limey character.)
You can buy it from independents like Palmers Wine Store for £11.50 or from Ocado for £12.25.
If you’re not based in the Uk or near a Cook outlet there are plenty of recipes on the internet for similar Thai curries (even Delia has a version! But if you are, the Cook version will save you a lot of time and scratch that Thai food itch!
For other Thai food pairings see Which drinks pair best with Thai food
For other riesling pairings The best food pairings for dry and off-dry riesling
(This post was not sponsored by Cook by the way. I’m just a fan!)
Is this wine the perfect match for Thai food?
Thai food is particularly difficult to match with wine. Not only do you have the heat to contend with but the tricky sweet-sour flavours and - as with many Asian cuisines - several dishes on the go at a time.
Up to now I’ve thought that off-dry pinot gris or riesling was the ideal pairing but after a meal at the much talked about Som Saa this week, an impossible to get into pop-up which has now found permanent premises in Commercial Street, I’m not so sure.
The food is authentic and therefore really spicy (and we didn’t have the hottest options!). Two dishes in particular, the som tam isaan (country-style green papaya salad) and pad prik king (red pork curry) really blew our socks off. A braised salted beef curry was challenging too.
I expected the medium-dry Markus Huber riesling on the list to be the best match but it was a improbably named German wine called Boogie from Friedrich Altenkirch in the Rheingau, a slightly drier but deliciously fragrant blend of sauvignon blanc, pinot blanc and riesling that sailed through.
Frustratingly the wine is not that widely available in the UK but Handford Wines told me on Twitter yesterday they occasionally have it. It’s imported into the UK by German specialist O W Loeb. For stockists in other countries see wine-searcher.com
For other ideas on what to drink with Thai food read
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