PAIRING WINE WITH THAI FOOD
Thai food really has a special flair that you can't help but fall in love with. But pairing wine with Thai food is no easy task. With salty, sweet, sour, and spicy flavours, all working in perfect harmony - and adding wine lets you discover even more unique and unexpected favour combinations!
Since there's very little history or tradition of wine drinking or winemaking in Thailand, there are no right or wrong rules about what you should or shouldn't drink. Aka: FREEDOM. When choosing wines we started by thinking about the drinks that typically accompany Thai dishes like beer, iced tea, or something bubbly like soda water. What do they all have in common? They're all refreshing and thirst-quenching in a way that matches with the commanding flavours of Thai food. So we're pairing wines that leave you with a similar feeling - except better because it's wine. ;)
So for this weeks #foodfriday we visited Morokok - a chic Thai fusion restaurant located in Mong Kok. So let's dive into the wines we drank and all the tasty dishes we paired them with:
B U B B L Y
Thinking back to the drinks typically paired with Thai - several of them bubbly/fizzy - we started with the Blanc De Blanc Brut from Motzenbacker. The acidity and fizzy bubbles helped to cut the grease in and lighten up the fried dishes like this Thai Style Snack Platter. In general, sparkling wine is an excellent match for Thai food since it's light enough to complement seafood, enhance flavours in heavily seasoned dishes, and is perfect with fried foods. Shop this wine HERE.
The dishes we paired this wine with:
- Thai Style Snack Platter (Shrimp Cake, Grilled Pork Cheek, Lemongrass Chicken Wings, Chicken Balls)
- Yum Som O (Thai Pomelo Salad with Prawns)
W H I T E W I N E
Choosing a refreshing off-dry white wine is generally a great match for spicier and richer foods. Sweeter off-dry white wine is able to harmonize and calm the spice with a refreshing and sugary taste. It’s light enough so it's doesn't clash with fish sauce or seafood, and serves as a beautiful complement to common Thai flavours like coconut, lemongrass, or lime. While Riesling is a good choice, we paired the Pinot Grigio (Grauburgunder) from Weingut Wörner with our main dishes - which both had a bit of a spicy kick - and it was perfection.
The dishes we paired this wine with:
- Risotto with Deep-Fried Soft Shell Crab in Thai Green Curry
- Tom Ka Gai (Thai Coconut Chicken Soup)
R E D W I N E
If you're feeling a bit adventurous red wine can work with Thai food. We recommend you go for a light-bodied red with a simple structure, such as this Pinot Noir from Karl May. A light, fruity, and elegant wine with very soft tannins - since tannins don’t react well to spice. If you do go with red wine, try chilling it a bit! Learn all about chilled red wines and ideal wine temperatures in our Wine Knowledge | The Right Wine Temperatures blog post!
To shop all the wines in this post and browse more recommendations for wine to match with spicy food click HERE and visit our Spicy Food & Wine page!
