What wine would you drink with Pad Thai?

What’s the best wine for pad thai? Well, it’s a dish you might well not think of pairing with wine at all but according to a report on the blog Musings from Thailand, an adviser to the Thai government has suggested a campaign to link French wine and Pad Thai as a way to promote Thai food overseas.

I'm not sure they're thinking along the right lines though. The picture on the post is of a red wine - possible of course - but I would definitely prefer a white.

For those of you who are not familiar with pad Thai it's a traditional street dish of noodles which generally includes sugar, tamarind, dried shrimp and fish sauce and is served with chilli and lime.

You could drink something like a cru Beaujolais or a young pinot noir but if I was going for a French wine I'd plump for an aromatic white - an Alsace riesling or sylvaner or a zesty sauvignon blanc from the Loire. Dry riesling from elsewhere would also work, obviously, or a Marlborough sauvignon from New Zealand.

For most people though beer is the more obvious pairing for a pad thai - a lager I suggest and there are plenty of alcohol-free drinks that would also work. The other day I had a ginger and lime soda with my pad thai at Rosa’s in Spitalfields. Kombucha would be a good pairing too.

See also What wines and other drinks pair best with noodles.

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