Chinese New Year is in two weeks' time and one will invariably be feasting at the dining table with family and friends. Robert Parker Wine Advocate’s wine reviewer Liwen Hao dishes out the quirks of partaking in a Chinese meal and how to pair well-known Chinese dishes with wines.
Sharing Food at the Table
People may wonder when the Chinese started sharing food. Historical documents show the Chinese ate separately until the Dang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.). When high chairs and big tables were introduced from overseas, we slowly developed the habit for sharing food. Is it a good one? Definitely not hygienic at all, but for Chinese food the presentation is very important with meanings (normally luck or happiness). You want to see a whole fish or chicken on the table with a pleasant dressing, which reflects the chef’s outstanding skills. In some premium restaurants, however, the wait staff will separate the food on the table, with two pairs of chopsticks for everyone—one for taking the food and one for eating.
People may wonder when the Chinese started sharing food. Historical documents show the Chinese ate separately until the Dang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.). When high chairs and big tables were introduced from overseas, we slowly developed the habit for sharing food. Is it a good one? Definitely not hygienic at all, but for Chinese food the presentation is very important with meanings (normally luck or happiness). You want to see a whole fish or chicken on the table with a pleasant dressing, which reflects the chef’s outstanding skills. In some premium restaurants, however, the wait staff will separate the food on the table, with two pairs of chopsticks for everyone—one for taking the food and one for eating.
Serving a whole fish is a symbol of a good start and ending to a meal.
Sharing food is always very important for Chinese people. The meal typically starts with cold dishes—up to eight plates or even more. When all the cold dishes are on the table and the guests have seated, it is a signal to use your chopsticks. Then, the warm dishes will be served; almost all of them will be placed on the table at once, sometimes up to 12 in total. Typically, a warm vegetable dish with rice and noodles is the last dish to be served. The timing of when the soup is served varies in provinces: in Guangdong, soup is served first, and in Shanghai, it is served late into the meal. A simple and typically fruit-based dessert is not uncommon to finish the meal.
Pairing Chinese Food with Wine
Some gourmands criticise that the Chinese like to pair seafood with a red Bordeaux, for example, a Château Lafite-Rothschild with steamed fish. But, has anyone ever seen a single dish of steamed fish on a big round table with people only drinking Lafite? When you have more than 10 dishes in front of you, it becomes a challenge to talk about food and wine pairings.
The easiest way is to find some dishes that can pair well with your wines. Generally speaking, Pinot Noir is unmistakably good with duck, and dry Riesling with stir-fried shrimps. There are thousands of dishes in China, many of which go well with one style of wine.
Some gourmands criticise that the Chinese like to pair seafood with a red Bordeaux, for example, a Château Lafite-Rothschild with steamed fish. But, has anyone ever seen a single dish of steamed fish on a big round table with people only drinking Lafite? When you have more than 10 dishes in front of you, it becomes a challenge to talk about food and wine pairings.
The easiest way is to find some dishes that can pair well with your wines. Generally speaking, Pinot Noir is unmistakably good with duck, and dry Riesling with stir-fried shrimps. There are thousands of dishes in China, many of which go well with one style of wine.
Hairy crabs, which is typically in-season in generally peaks in mid-October and November, are great with Champagne and Sherry.
When you are more familiar with Chinese food, you can start getting adventurous with wine and food-pairings. Sichuan food is spicy and pungent, while Cantonese food is light and fresh. Burgundy is a good choice for Cantonese food, but it may be unwise to pair it with Sichuan food. Almost every province has its style of cuisine, which has to be considered in wine pairings. Bordeaux and Rhone varieties gel nicely with roasted Peking duck and suckling pig, and Red Rioja is always good with braised soya sauce meat in Shanghai.
And, especially for Chinese food, one cannot be limited by rules. It’s a lot of fun to try one wine with different dishes, or one dish with different wines. Sitting around round tables enables the Chinese to enjoy many dishes at one time conveniently. For a casual dinner, the best thing to do is to put all the wine on the table and pair different dishes with different wines. Late harvest Riesling can be good with spicy food, but Barossa Shiraz can be equally as good. Nothing is impossible for wine and Chinese food pairings!
And, especially for Chinese food, one cannot be limited by rules. It’s a lot of fun to try one wine with different dishes, or one dish with different wines. Sitting around round tables enables the Chinese to enjoy many dishes at one time conveniently. For a casual dinner, the best thing to do is to put all the wine on the table and pair different dishes with different wines. Late harvest Riesling can be good with spicy food, but Barossa Shiraz can be equally as good. Nothing is impossible for wine and Chinese food pairings!
This article was written by Liwen Hao and first appeared on Robert Parker Wine Advocate. Click here to read the original version of this story.
