Pairing Wine With Sushi, Sashimi, Poke, & Any Raw Fish Dish
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We at a lot of sushi, and typically default to sake or beer to accompany it. That’s because we’re fussy about wine, and most neighborhood places around us tend to have generic jug wines. But the number of upscale sushi emporia is mushrooming in our town, with omakase dinners from $150 to the Hinoki Counter Experience at Masa, where a seat at the sushi counter costs $950 per person, beverages extra. Omakase restaurants tend to have nice wine lists, which begets the question: What wines should you pair with sushi? Pairing wine with sushi and sashimi is a fun exercise. The delicacy of raw fish and seafood, the tang of rice vinegar, and the hit of wasabi invite the suggestions that follow. But first: > The year’s sushi holidays and other Japanese food holidays. > Sushi Glossary: a photo glossary of the different types of sushi and sashimi. > The year’s 25+ red wine holidays. > The year’s 22+ white wine holidays. You can always find beer and sake and a wine options, but some of the wines we see are not as sagely listed as they could be. > The year’s 6 sushi holidays plus 10 more Japanese food holidays. Before we drill down into Western wines, we must give sake its due. It’s often called rice wine, although it’s actually a brewed alcoholic like beer (see more in the †footnote). Like beer, it’s brewed in different styles from dry to sweet, and sold in different qualities, from average to excellent. Do if you don’t like sake, do try some of the good stuff. It goes with any type of raw fish or seafood dish. Onto the wines: Delicate flavors like raw require wines that will not overwhelm—wines that are balanced and refreshing. Here are five categories that work, depending on your palate preference and what you’re consuming. Yes, you can have red wine with sushi and sashimi! But select low-tannin wines, high acid wines like the two varietals here, and serve them slightly chilled. Heavy oak, bold tannins, and very high alcohol will overpower delicate fish flavors. In general, drink high-acid wines with fish that are heartier, fatty, and buttery like amberjack, eel, mackerel, salmon, tuna (especially toro, fatty tuna belly), yellowtail, even sea urchin (uni). |
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________________ *Eel sauce, also known as unagi sauce and kabayaki sauce, eel sauce is a thick, sweet-and-savory glaze made from soy sauce, mirin, and sugar, reduced to a syrupy consistency. Despite its name, it does not contain eel; the name refers to its traditional use as a glaze for grilled freshwater eel (unagi). It is a popular condiment in Japanese cuisine, served not just with sushi, but with rice bowls, grilled meats, and vegetables. †Sake is made from rice, water, koji mold, and yeast. Like beer, it is made from grain, and its brewing process is similar to that of beer, involving the conversion of starch to sugar. Wine, on the other hand, is a process of fermenting fruit sugar into alcohol (even wines made from flowers, such as dandelion, elderflower, or rose hips, are considered fruit). CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM. |
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