One of my favorite dishes to order at Chinese restaurants is stir-fried fish. Delicate, melt-in-your mouth slices of white fish (usually sole or tilapia) contrast with crunchy bell peppers, fresh scallions, and savory black bean sauce. This unassuming menu item doesn’t get much attention compared to more popular General Tso’s chicken, or Mongolian beef. However, it embodies the essence of classic Cantonese cuisine: it’s light, mild in flavor, and the natural flavors of its ingredients shine through.
Pairing wine with Chinese food can be tricky. Chinese cuisine varies greatly by region, and even by dish. For example, the Szechuan province is known for spicy dishes, which will need an off-dry Riesling to tame the heat. But the Guangdong province is known for milder flavors, which some would even consider to be bland! In this post, we will explore wine pairing with Cantonese-style stir-fry.
Most Chinese restaurants do not specify whether they are “Cantonese”. However, since most early Chinese American immigrants came from the Guangdong province of China, many of our Chinese restaurants today serve Cantonese-style cuisine. Hint: if you see a lot of dishes that are (1) not spicy, (2) stir-fried, braised, or steamed, and (3) paired with rice, you’re probably looking at a Cantonese menu.
Wine Pairing with Chinese Food
Chinese entrees are often consumed family-style. If you are sharing a number of Cantonese-style dishes, here are some shared flavor elements you can use to guide wine pairing.
- Presence of fresh vegetables. Historically, red meat was not plentiful in the Guangdong province. Most entrees, even the ones categorized as meat dishes, include vegetables, tofu, fungus, or other ingredients.
- White rice. Unlike northern China, where noodles dominate, southern Chinese cuisine is all about the rice. Meat is generally consumed sparingly, and considered to be the “seasoning” for rice. While most of us think of white rice as a pretty bland grain, it is actually very faintly sweet. This is due to its high starch content.
- Scallions. Few Cantonese dishes are complete without this garnish. Scallions grace everything from plates of fried rice to long trays of fish, steamed whole. They may be chopped small, but their flavor is not. There is a distinct note of fresh, onion-y, vegetal flavor in every scallion-laced dish.
Sauvignon Blanc and Stir Fry
For stir-fried fish with bell peppers, onions, and scallions, Sauvignon Blanc is a clear wine pairing choice. Sauvignon Blanc has high levels of pyrazines, which give it that bell pepper-y aroma. It has vibrant fruit and crisp acidity, perfect for the fresh, crunchy vegetables and in-your-face scallions of this dish. But even Sauvignon Blanc varies greatly by region. What type of Sauvignon Blanc is best? We decided to put two Sauvignon Blanc wines to the test, old-world versus new-world.
The Wines:
Old World: Sun Goddess Sauvignon Blanc – Friuli, Italy
Sun Goddess is Mary J. Blige’s new line of wines, and I’ll admit – I couldn’t resist trying them. This Sauvignon Blanc is delicate and tentative on the nose, with soft aromatics of melon, peach, lemon blossom, and banana. I usually expect a bit more “green” notes in Sauvignon Blanc, like bell pepper, grass, or herbs, but I was not getting them in the Sun Goddess. Friuli is a region with plenty of sunshine, and it clearly has created a fuller wine here. On the palate, the Sun Goddess is smooth and creamy in body, with medium acidity.
New World: Craggy Range Sauvignon Blanc – Marlborough, New Zealand
Craggy Range is everything I would expect from a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Its tropical aromatics are pure and crystalline in definition, coupled with laserlike acidity. On the nose, guava, passionfruit, mango, and pineapple are underscored by hints of freshly-cut grass and green bell pepper. Despite the abundance of tropical fruit, the finish is clean and dry, with hints of freshly-squeezed grapefruit.
The Winner: New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc with Chinese Stir Fry
Hands down, New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is the winner when it comes to stir fry. With each sip, the wine’s vivid tropical fruit and piercing acidity held up to the flavors of sweet bell peppers, flaky fish, and garlic. Scallions and peppers often clash with wine, but the grassy, herbal notes in New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc marries nicely to these striking flavors. This wine is light enough to let the taste of the stir-fry remain clear, while maintaining its own lucid aromatics.
Alas, I wanted to like Mary J. Blige’s Sun Goddess Sauvignon Blanc with this dish. However, it is too delicate to pair with Chinese food. Its subtle aromatics were overshadowed by the dish’s intense flavors of scallion, bell peppers, and black bean sauce. I could see the Sun Goddess pairing better on light dishes without vegetables, such as roast chicken, turkey, or mild cheeses such as burrata. It would also be enjoyable on its own, as a cocktail or aperitif.
It’s possible that other types of old-world Sauvignon Blanc, such as Sancerre, would be bolder than the Friuli Sauvignon Blanc we tried. However, we suspect their aromatics would still not be as pronounced as the New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Ultimately, it would be hard for a Sancerre to rival a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc when it comes to Chinese stir fry.
Did you like this pairing? If you tried it, share your feedback below!