8 foods you might be surprised to find pair brilliantly with sake

If you drink sake already you probably have your favourite pairings - sashimi, sushi, and yakitori among them -but it goes with more than just Japanese food albeit dishes that may be prepared with Japanese techniques or seasonings

What makes sake unique? As I discovered on a recent trip with the Akashi-based brewery Akashi Tai it’s low in acidity, but relatively high in alcohol which enables it to partner foods as intensely flavoured as grilled meat. There’s often a touch of sweetness too that works well with other Asian dishes and sweet flavoured root veg and, of course, dishes that are rich in umami.

Obviously it's going to depend on the type of sake and the temperature at which you serve it but since sake is complicated enough for the novice I'm not going to be too prescriptive about the pairings just give you the odd nudge where I think it would be helpful.

Just find a decent sake - serve it cool rather than warm - and give it a try!

Steak
Especially with soy or miso and garlic chips (rather than with a red wine sauce, say) as you can see from this recent post . just look for one with a slightly higher alcohol content and lower polishing ratio  

Salad 
Particularly with a creamy dressing or parmesan as in a caesar salad. Sparkling sake would be delicious with a creamy burrata

Peanut-based dressings
i.e sauces and dips like gado gado and satay sauces especially if they have a touch of sesame too

Root veg
like carrots, celeriac, parsnips and sweet potato particularly when roasted which brings out their natural sweetness. (It works with a root vegetable soup too.

Other sweet veg
Such as butternut squash and pumpkin. Try a butternut squash risotto.

Pasta
Maybe that’s not so surprising as pasta is basically noodles by another name and many sauces contain ingredients that are sake-friendly but it still might not be the first bottle you reach for. I probably wouldn’t with most tomato based sauces but a daiginjo sake would be great with with a seafood pasta such as spaghetti vongole

Also any pasta sauce that is umami (deeply savoury). With mushrooms, for instance, or Nigella’s famous Marmite spaghetti.

Or with this spaghetti dish with kosho and roasted parmesan rind

Fried chicken 
I know I know, there are so many drinks that work with fried chicken - beer, champagne and cava among them but sparkling sake should be on your list. Especially when the chicken's served plain or with a creamy sauce though I think a katsu sauce can be a bit overwhelming (better with beer).

Apparently fried chicken is the traditional Christmas Eve food in Japan. I could adopt that habit!

Cheese
There’s a lactic element to sake that mirrors that in cheese especially aged hard cheeses like - parmesan and grano padano but it’s also good with alpine cheeses like Gruyère and Comté

More on this in a couple of weeks after I’ve been to a sake and cheese pairing at La Fromagerie in London for which there still seem to be tickets available if you want to experience the combination for yourself.

Oysters
Not maybe a match you’d have thought of but a remarkably successful one as you can see from this report from sake expert Shirley Booth. (It's the glutamates in both sake and oysters that's the key)

For more conventional sake pairings see some of the archive features on the site.

How the world’s best sakes pair with food 

Why sake pairs so well with food

Top photo by Oksana Mizina at shutterstock.com

The best food to pair with Chardonnay

If you’re looking for food pairings for chardonnay, you’re in luck! Whatever the style it’s a fantastic food wine. Which makes it all the more remarkable that many people still say they don’t like chardonnay. 

I always think saying you’re bored with chardonnay is a bit like saying you’re bored with chicken. There are so many different styles including some of the world’s greatest white wines.

The key to pairing chardonnay is appreciating that it’s not just one wine - it depends where it’s made, whether or not it’s oaked and how mature it is when you drink it. I’m sharing my favourite food pairings for every style of Chardonnay - whether you’re sipping a steely Chablis, a rich Californian chardonnay, or something in between. We’ll dive into the best dishes to bring out the vibrant fruit, balance the acidity, and complement those creamy textures. 

Top food pairings for four different styles of chardonnay

Young, unoaked, cool climate chardonnay


Such as: The classic and most austere example of this is Chablis but other young white burgundies would fall into this category.

Good matches:

*They’re perfect with light and delicate food such as raw and lightly cooked shellfish like crab and prawns and steamed or grilled fish. 

*If you want to serve chardonnay with appetizers think fish pâtés, fish, chicken or vegetable terrines.

*This style also goes well with pasta or risotto with spring vegetables and creamy vegetable soups.

*Finer, more intense examples such as Puligny-Montrachet can take on raw fish such as sashimi or delicately spiced fish or salads.

*Chablis is particularly good with oysters.

For more suggestions see this post on pairing food and Chablis

Fruitier, unoaked or lightly oaked chardonnays


Such as: Chardonnays from slightly warmer areas to the above but made in a more contemporary style - smooth, sometimes buttery with melon and peach flavours. Examples would be inexpensive chardonnays from the south of France, Chile, New Zealand and South Africa.

Good matches:

*Slightly richer dishes than those listed above but ones where a degree of freshness in the wine is still welcome.

*Fish pie and fish cakes (especially salmon fish cakes)

*other simple salmon preparations (simply poached or with a buttery sauce)

*chicken, pork or pasta in a creamy sauce (including in vol-au-vents!)

*chicken, ham or cheese-based salads such as caesar salad or chicken salads that include peach, mango or macadamia nuts

*mild curries with buttery sauces (such as chicken makhani)

Buttery, oaked Chardonnay


Such as: barrel-fermented, barrel aged or ‘reserve’ chardonnays, particularly top end Australian, New Zealand and Calfornian Chardonnay and top white burgundy, served within 1-3 years of purchase

Good matches:

*Similar dishes to the above but can take an extra degree of richness. Dishes like eggs benedict for example or even a steak béarnaise.

*Fine rich fish such as turbot, grilled veal chops with mushrooms

*Late summer vegetables such as red peppers, corn, butternut squash and pumpkin (pumpkin ravioli and a rich Chardonnay is very good)

*Cheddar cheese, if you’re looking for a chardonnay cheese pairing. 

*You can even drink a rich chardonnay with seared foie gras (and indeed many prefer it to Sauternes at the start of a meal)

Mature barrel-fermented Chardonnays


Such as: Wines that are about 3-8 years old. With age Chardonnay acquires a creamy, sometimes nutty taste and creamy texture that calls for a return to finer, more delicate dishes

Good matches:

*Umami-rich (savoury) dishes such as grilled, seared or roast shellfish like lobster and scallops

*simply roast chicken such as the poulet de Bresse above

*guinea fowl

*dishes that include wild mushrooms and slow roast tomatoes

*white truffles

*Hazelnut-crusted chicken or fish

*Sea bass with fennel purée

See also

The Best Food Pairings with White Burgundy

What chardonnay doesn’t pair well with

*Chinese food (better with German riesling)

*Light fresh cheeses such as goat or sheep cheeses (better with sauvignon blanc or an aged red, respectively

*Seared salmon or tuna (better with a light red like pinot noir)

*Tomato-based dishes (better with dry Italian whites or Italian reds)

*Thai flavours (better with Alsace pinot gris or New World sauvignon blanc)

Top image © Philip Wise at shutterstock.com

The best wine (and other) pairings with oysters

Now that we're back into months with an 'r' in them it's time to enjoy oysters again. But what’s the best wine - or beer - to pair with them?

Unusually there’s more than one outstanding match plus some good alternatives you may not have thought of. Which one you choose will obviously depend on which drink you like best - there’s no point in serving Guinness if you hate the stuff - and how the oysters are served. Cooked oysters are generally rather more forgiving than raw ones.

It also makes quite a difference how you season them. Personally I’m in favour of no seasoning at all, letting the wine do the job of a squeeze of lemon but conversely adding lemon can make richer chardonnays and champagnes work better if those are the wines you’d rather drink.

Chablis
There are actually fossilised oyster shells in the soil of the Chablis region so it’s maybe not too fanciful to say that’s why it hits just exactly the right note. I’d pick a recent vintage though rather than a mature one, a premier cru if you’re treating yourself to natives (below), whose season starts on Septmber 1st.

Champagne (and dry sparkling wine)
Here it’s the bubbles that provide the magic, the perfect textural contrast to the smooth velvety texture of the oysters. Ultra dry champagnes like Laurent Perrier Ultra Brut and Drappier Brut Nature that don't have any dosage (sugar and wine solution) added to them before bottling work best though lighter styles of regular non-vintage Champagne such as Taittinger will do a perfectly good job. Sparkling wine is also the best match by far for deep-fried oysters.

See also this Match of the Week: Oysters and Tasmanian fizz

Muscadet and other crisp, dry whites
The cut price option, clean-as-a-whistle Muscadet acts just like a squeeze of lemon - so don’t add lemon too. The best wines come from the Sèvre-et-Maine region and are labelled ‘sur lie’ (the wine is aged on the lees, the residue of the yeast used to ferment the wine which gives it more flavour). Also in this category of bone-dry whites comes Picpoul de Pinet from the south of France, Pinot Grigio from Italy and Albariño from Galicia in northern Spain.

Sauvignon Blanc
This is what they would drink round Bordeaux, also an oyster-producing area and it works elsewhere too, particularly when oysters are served, as they often are Down Under, with Asian flavours. Again keep the wine young and unoaked. The added zestiness of Sauvignon also helps with strong seasonings like shallot and red wine vinegar or Tabasco.

Chardonnay
Not great, in my view, with raw oysters but very nice with cooked ones, particularly in a creamy sauce or chowder. Choose a lightly oaked, creamy style such as you find in Burgundy, Limoux in southern France or cool climate regions of the New World.

Guinness and other stouts
It’s mainly a colour and texture thing. Black on white (or rather, cream). Smooth layered on smooth. And the saltiness of the oysters counteracts the bitterness of the beer. If you like stout this match is sublime.

Kasteel Cru
This unusual lager made in Alsace from champagne yeasts works much the same way as Champagne. A good bet for those who prefer to drink beer but don’t like stout.

Perrier rondelle
Iced sparkling water (it doesn’t have to be Perrier) with a slice of lemon. Dry, refreshing and doesn’t detract from the delicate flavour of the oysters

Other wines may well work too depending on the seasoning and/or other ingredients you put with them as in this pairing of oysters and dry German riesling.

Incidentally if you're an oyster fan the seafood restaurant Wright Bros holds Oyster Masterclasses in London. The two hour class, which costs £60 includes 12 oysters (prepared different ways), a glass of champagne and two glasses of wine plus the For dates and venues check their website.

8 great food pairings for stout and porter

Although there are obviously differences between the two types of beer, dark stouts and porters tend to pair with similar types of food. Here are my top matches ...

Oysters and Guinness is one of the beer world’s classic pairings only bettered in my experience by an oyster rarebit. A creamy chowder with oysters and scallops is also great with a lighter stout

Dark beefy or venison stews like my recipe for braised beef with port and porter. Ox cheeks, ox tail all love stouts and porters

Steak pies such as this steak and stilton pie I enjoyed with a London porter or a hot game pie

Boiled bacon and cabbage - a classic St Patrick’s Day pairing with a smooth dark creamy Irish stout. Mmmm.

American-style barbecue especially BBQd ribs or smoked brisket - one for an American-style porter - even a smoked one if you want to layer on some extra smokey flavour.

Stilton and similar mellow blue cheeses - porter works in the same way as port: a strong dark contrast. Brilliant.

Dark chocolate cakes and desserts - If you don’t have a very sweet tooth and enjoy black coffee with your chocolate you’ll enjoy a porter too. A stronger, sweeter imperial stout is arguably better still. Especially with brownies.

Vanilla ice cream - Imperial stout and ice cream makes a great float. Here’s Garrett Oliver’s Imperial Stout Float from the Brooklyn Brewery

If you found this post useful you may also enjoy:

Food pairings for witbiers

Food pairings for hefeweizen and other German-style wheat beers

5 great matches for IPA

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