Most Houstonians don’t head to Asiatown to imbibe, but if you want a great glass of wine or beer to elevate your Asian cuisine, it is possible to find good juice. However, it can be a tricky pairing due to all the complex spices and varying heat levels in the cuisine.
With the help of sommelier Justin Vann (owner of PSA Wines and beverage director of Public Services Wine & Whisky), we’ve culled some basic pairing guidelines for Asian genres and classic dishes. And, because most of these spots do not post drink menus online, we’ve done the legwork and provided a round-up of the best wine and beer menus in Asiatown. You will also find a list of great places to BYOB (bring your own bottle). From Sichuan to ramen, Viet-Cajun and Malaysian, count on something super to sip.
SICHUAN
“This cuisine has a narrow window for ideal pairings because of its volcanic intensity and the presence of Sichuan peppercorns. Beer is best, then off-dry white wine, then dry white wine. Reds are extremely clumsy with Sichuan cuisine with one notable exception: carbonic macerated red wines. Carbonic maceration makes a lighter, fruiter red. Sichuan food needs a red wine that structurally acts like a white wine. Beaujolais Nouveau is a good example, but there are better options. At Mala Sichuan Bistro, we’re pouring Broc Cellars Love Red. ‘Love’ is a carbonic blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mouvedre from California, and it delivers ripe red fruit flavors that pair with even the rowdiest Sichuan dishes like mapo tofu and water-boiled beef.” For an Asian pairing primer, Vann helped us with some wine and pairings at Mala Sichuan Bistro where much of the fare is spicy with Sichuan peppercorn heat, but not everything on the menu is fiery hot.
Mala Sichuan garlic bacon cucumber paired with Tsingtao beer
RAMEN (JAPANESE)
“Ramen doesn’t have a one-size-fits-all pairing because of the huge breadth of styles. Hopefully it doesn’t blow anyone’s mind if I say lighter beer is an ideal pairing for ramen. A few other things to try for fun:
- Fino and manzanilla sherry with tonkatsu
- Semi-sweet sparkling wine or French sparkler pét-nat* with spicy ramen
- alo cortado sherry with tsukemen (“dipping ramen”)
I’m not trying to push a sherry agenda, but sherry is one of the greatest pairings on the planet with soups.”
- Pét-nat is short for pétillant naturel – literally, “naturally sparkling.” It’s a less-processed kind of sparkling wine, often sealed with a crown cap.
CANTONESE
“Milder dishes like Cantonese fare or dim sum work well with light, refreshing white wines like Northern Italian white wines and méthode champenois sparkling wines. Actually, white Burgundy is magic with this fare. Make sure you’re picking balanced, milder white wines so that you don’t lose the nuance and freshness that this kind of cuisine exhibits.”
Mala Sichuan dry pot prawns paired with Pichot Vouvray or The Huet Vouvray
VIETNAMESE
“In general, red wines do not flatter Vietnamese food. Lighter reds are encouraged, like Pinot Noir and Gamay. German and Austrian wines work wonders, as do sparkling wines. Try clay pot catfish with Sercial Madeira, old ale or barley wine. Tempura crab is great with saison (a highly carbonated pale ale) or sparkling wine, while Vietnamese eggrolls come alive with Riesling, Vouvray, Grüner Veltliner or saison.”
VIET-CAJUN
“Viet-Cajun crawfish, like ramen, are best with beer. The lighter the beer, the better. But if you want to party, a pale ale or a wheat beer can be fun. Anything heavier, and you’re asking for a flavor train wreck in your mouth. Think of the crawfish. That’s why you’re there, so show them some respect.”
SUSHI & SASHIMI
“This is another cuisine where beer is the best thing to drink. The pairing shouldn’t be vying for your attention at a sushi restaurant. However, if you’re feeling zesty, softer styles of Champagne, sparkling wine and en rama fino sherry are very good untraditional pairings for sushi and sashimi.”
MALAYSIAN
“Malaysian food has rowdy bad-ass flavors like Sichuan food, but it’s more forgiving of intensity when paired with wine and beer. I am for the middle of the spectrum of intensity here. Medium-weight red wines can work slightly better here than whites.”
Mala Sichuan steamed whole tilapia paired with Nigl Gruner Veltliner
RED WINE AND ASIAN CUISINE
There is good and bad news for red wine lovers, says Justin Vann. “There aren’t a lot of Asian cuisines that pair well with heavy red wine. (Actually, there aren’t a lot of cuisines on earth that pair well with heavy red wine.) It’s important to note, though, that Chinatown likes big red wine. So, enjoy your big reds when you feel like it, just avoid high-alcohol reds. High tannins and high acid can be great with, say, bo luc lac (shaking beef made with sirloin or rib eye), but high alcohol shuts down Asian food – and most other food.”
Does that mean no Zinfandel? “I would never say Zinfandel couldn’t pair with Asian food. But a jacked-up 16.5 percent alcohol Zin will make even a natural foil like Korean beef bulgogi taste weird.”
The bottom line is that the ideal reds for Asian cuisine are light-bodied, high-acid wines like red Burgundy and more quaffable expressions of Chianti and Rioja. “Gamay does a great job, too. Peking duck gets red Burgundy, end of story. If it’s not Burgundy, get as close to that style as possible.”