What wine (and other drinks) to pair with poke (updated)

If you haven’t heard of poke - the Hawaiian dish of cubed raw fish usually with rice and/or vegetables - you soon will. It’s everywhere (and pronounced, by the way, pokay not poke).

It’s not generally spicy so you don’t have to contend with that but usually has a dressing based on soy sauce which gives it an umami (savoury) character. 

It’s the sort of light dish you might have at lunchtime so alcohol might not even be appropriate though there are definitely wines - more often that not white or rosé - that will work well with it. 

There are also many alcohol-free options that go well, particularly citrussy ones, given that it more often than not features seafood.

Here are eight suggestions

Riesling
A crisp fresh young riesling - from the Okanagan Valley or Washington State, for example - would be delicious

Sauvignon Blanc
Generally good where seafood is involved and poke is no exception. I’d choose a citrussy style from Chile for example rather than the more powerful, punchy sauvignons from New Zealand

Grüner Veltliner
If in doubt turn to Austria’s Asian food-friendly Grüner Veltliner. Especially with Asian flavours

A fruity rosé
I tried a low alcohol (10%) off-dry English rosé based on pinot noir and meunier called A Little Bit from Westwell in Kent with a salmon poke and it was spot on.

Sake
Poke is actually not that different in flavour from sushi and although the Japanese wouldn’t traditionally drink a rice-based drink with rice there’s no reason why you shouldn’t.

A good crisp pils
C’mon! You can do better than a Bud! Buy a proper German pils or a crisp craft lager. They’ll both pair well with poke.

Pina colada
Bring back those retro cocktails! We should stop being sniffy about pina colada and drink it with the kind of food for which it was intended.

And thinking pineapple and coconut, pineapple juice would also be a good (and appropriately Hawaiian) pairing as would ultra-fashionable sweet, creamy coconut water. 

If you want to know more about poke read this excellent introduction from Bon Appetit.

Photo ©laplateresca at fotolia.com

What wines (and other drinks) pair best with noodles?

If you’re wondering what to drink with noodles you need to think about the way and the flavours with which they’re cooked rather than the fact that they’re noodles. (Yes, I know pasta counts as noodles too but I’m thinking more of Asian recipes.)

They’re not an obvious dish with which to drink wine particularly if they’re served in a broth like this recipe for Khao Soi noodles. In fact you don’t actually need to drink with them at all. But dry dishes do go quite well, particularly Japanese noodle recipes.

Here are some wine and other pairings to try:

Aromatic white wines

The most obvious go-to with a bowl of noodles. My favourites would be a dry riesling or grüner veltliner or try a Hungarian dry furmint or harslevelu. Often it’s the sauce or broth that dictates that as with this laksa.

Crisp dry white wines

Crisp whites like albarino, picpoul de pinot and koshu pair well with cold noodles like this prawn noodle salad

Inexpensive red burgundy

Maybe not the most obvious choice but it did the trick with this sukiyaki. It would probably go with a beef pho too

Lager

Probably most people’s choice when it comes to beer. It certainly works with ramen and pad thai (below) though if you’re eating a cold noodle dish like this one try a weissbier.

Sake

Particularly with Japanese noodles for obvious reasons

Green tea

Especially genmaicha - a particularly savoury green tea flavoured with roasted brown rice. Again good with Japanese noodles.

Kombucha

Being a fermented drink kombucha (fermented tea) has a tiny amount of alcohol but unless you’re avoiding it altogether it’s negligible. A good match for many noodle dishes too

Sour plum tea

A recent discovery that worked really well with some spicy Sichuan noodles

A fruity cocktail

A fruity cocktail like this Guava Collins works well with hot spicy noodles

My top wine pairings with strawberries

I’m sure you’re enjoying a bowlful or two of strawberries at this time of year. But what to drink with them?

The classic pairing of champagne is to my mind too dry unless the champagne is rosé or demi-sec but there are plenty of other possibilities depending on how you serve your berries.

Unsweetened strawberries or served plain with a little sugar

Perfectly ripe berries, especially wild strawberries can be delicious with an off-dry sparkling wine such as Moscato d’Asti, Asti, Extra Dry prosecco or even a sparkling white zinfandel or Australian sparkling rosé like Jacob’s Creek. You could also serve them the French or Italian way macerated in a light red wine such as Beaujolais with a little sugar - a (reasonably) healthy alternative to cream!

Strawberries and cream

The perfect foil for a classic dessert wine such as Sauternes or (more economically) Muscat-de-Beaumes-de-Venise. Alternatively if you don’t want to serve wine you could choose a contrasting but complementary well-chilled fruit juice such as passionfruit or mango.

Light airy strawberry desserts such as mousses, soufflés or gâteaux

Demi-sec or rosé Champagne or similar sparkling wine.

Strawberry tarts or shortcakes

The additional sweetness you get from the pastry or shortbread means your wine needs to be sweeter. Sauternes or similar wines from the Bordeaux region will probably work but I’d be inclined to go for a luscious new world botrytised or late harvest semillon or sauvignon. Sweet wines from the Loire such as Coteaux du Layon can also work well

Strawberries with meringue such as a pavlova, sundae or Eton Mess

Light and airy but typically sweeter than a gateau. A sweet wine with good acidity such as a late harvest or Beerenauslese riesling can be good or try a strawberry or raspberry liqueur topped up with champagne (like a kir royale or strawberry or raspberry bellini)

Strawberry cheesecake

I really enjoy fruit flavoured beers with the rich but slightly savoury flavour of cheesecake and a strawberry beer such as the Belgian Fruli is quite perfect. It would also be a good choice if you served strawberries with mascarpone. (If you can’t get hold of a strawberry beer try a cherry or raspberry-flavoured one)

Strawberries with dark chocolate

If strawberries are served with or dipped in chocolate the chocolate becomes the key element to match. I would choose a sweet vin doux naturel such as a Maury. (You don’t want quite as intense a red fruit flavour as you would look for with a chocolate and cherry dessert)

Strawberries with orange

Strawberries and orange have a surprising affinity but will tend to strip out the fruit flavours in any accompanying dessert wine. Try a frozen shot of Cointreau or a small glass of Pimms No 1 Cup, made slightly stronger than usual.

Strawberry ice creams and sorbets

Matching wine to ice cream can be tricky unless there are other elements to the dessert and you are simply serving a scoop in place of cream. I quite like to serve a chilled liqueur that will pick out the fruit flavours such as a delicate, strawberry-flavoured ratafia di fragola (Carluccio’s used to do a delicious one - I’m not sure if they still do)

Since I first wrote this article a couple of years ago there's a new generation of pink moscatos and other sparkling reds and rosés which would work really well too. See these suggestions in my Guardian column

Image by HomeMaker on Pixabay

Wine, beer or cocktails - what’s the best match for a 4th July barbecue?

If you’re celebrating July 4th this week and haven’t yet made up your mind what to drink here are some last minute suggestions.

American BBQ has much more complex flavours than the typical British affair with sweet, sticky ribs and wings, smokey slow-cooked brisket and elaborately topped ‘dogs’ (there are some amazing topping ideas on the epicurious site).

Wine

To kick off with I’d offer a zesty sauvignon blanc or a refreshing riesling both of which would work the tangy dips that generally accompany an American barbecue and any seafood that is going on the grill. After than think in terms of a young fruity red with a bit of a kick: my choices would be syrah/shiraz or GSM (grenache/syrah/mourvèdre) blends, petite sirah or an inexpensive zinfandel.

Tip: Keep your reds cool. Even full-bodied reds can do with a short dunk in an ice-bucket.

Beer

Lager may be traditional but there are so many beers with fantastic flavours these days you can do much better than that. There are some great suggestions here and here. Crowd-pleasing options would be pale ales and IPAs but if you’re feeling more adventurous try German-style hefe-weisse, particularly with dogs and wings and porter with smoked brisket.

Cocktails

A mint julep would be the traditional July 4th cocktail though with peaches in season I prefer a softer, sweeter peach julep - a great match for sweet sticky ribs.

Non-alcoholic drinks

More and more people aren't drinking these days. Homemade lemonade and iced tea are popular choices: try this easy version from BBC Good Food. Floats are another great option - this watermelon soda float looks fabulously refreshing.