Match of the week
Prawn laksa and dry German riesling
It was a bumper week for wine pairings with some classic favourites such as pork and Beaujolais (an excellent Fleurie at Cora Pearl) and oysters and muscadel (at the new Hawksmoor in Edinburgh) but I’m going for this riesling pairing as it solves the thorny problem of what to drink with laksa.
Actually I discovered I’d flagged this up once before but 8 years ago so it felt it was worth reminding you. The laksa was at the newly opened - and wildly popular* - Sambal Shiok in Islington. We chose a moderately hot version which was maybe a mistake as it lacked a bit of punch but that was probably a plus so far as the wine - a very delicious off-dry Mosel riesling - was concerned. (The list is put together by writer and wine consultant Zeren Wilson who also chooses the wine at the Thai restaurant Smoking Goat)
The riesling also went brilliantly with the sides we ordered including a gado gado salad and Malaysian fried chicken with peanut sauce. Often I advocate slightly sweeter rieslings with spicy food but this was wonderfully refreshing. And - unusually for the Mosel - 12%, so strong enough to carry the punchy flavours.
*Go if you’re in that part of town but I wouldn’t cross London for it.
Laksa and Riesling
Laksa is one of those dishes you hesitate to pair with wine being both a soup and really spicy but the pairing I came across at the Pegasus Bay wine dinner at The Providores the other night was spot on.
One of the reasons I think it worked so well was that the chicken that had been used to make the laksa had apparently been smoked and smoked food is generally good with Riesling. It was also aromatic rather than fierily hot and contained - I would guess - a fair amount of coconut milk which tends to ease in a wine pairing.
As I’ve mentioned the Riesling, the 2008 Pegasus Bay ‘Bel Canto’, was already acquiring those appealing limey, kerosene notes which chimed in perfectly with the flavours of the soup. (You might think that you’d go for a simpler, less expensive Riesling with this sort of dish but in my opinion it was the intensity of the wine that made the match work so well.)
It’s not widely available but you should be able to track down a stockist through New Generation wines in the UK (info@newgenerationwines.com) and Empson USA in the US (nbarber@empsonusa.com). For other stockists see the Pegasus Bay website.
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