Chinese cuisine and German wine: a good combination?

Chinese cuisine

Typical Chinese dishes consist of meat or other animal products, such as fish or eggs, accompanied by rice and vegetables. Today, Chinese cooking styles can be found almost all over the world, although the original cooking techniques can differ greatly between different regions of China. Even the styles between two regional neighbors can be so distinctive that they taste completely foreign. The diversity of cuisine developed during China’s long history and was influenced by its dynasties. The delicacies of Chinese cuisine have been at least since the Qing dynasty (1644 – 1911) an inherent part of Chinese culture.

Due to geographical and climatic differences, as well as the diversity of costumes, lifestyles and products available, the typical “Eight Regional Cuisines of China” evolved. They are unique in their characteristics and flavors and namely the following:

• Shandong Cuisine (Lu): Popular for a variety of seafood (sweet and sour carp, braised abalone, and trepang), soups, organ meats, and meat (Jiuzhuan Dachang and Dezhou Chicken)
• Guangdong (Yue) cuisine: origin of Cantonese food and special for fried, baked and steamed dishes, such as chrysanthemum fish, braised snake porridge or roast suckling pig.
• Sichuan (Chuan) Cuisine: Famous for the bold and spicy flavors of Sichuan garlic, chilies, or peppercorn and ingredients such as peanuts, sesame, and ginger, Famous Dishes: Stir-Fried Tofu with Minced Beef, Gong Bao Ji Ding (chicken) and Lamp -shade meat
• Hunan (Xiang) Cuisine: Known for its really spicy flavors and fresh aroma, prepared with stewing, frying, pot-roasting, stewing and smoking culinary techniques, famous dishes are braised fins, fried fresh cabbage with chestnuts and the dong. anzi chicken
• Jiangsu (Su) cuisine: the typical dishes of the region in the lower Yangtze River are stews or stews, the most famous being the Jinling Salty Dry Duck and the Duck Triple Combo
• Zhejiang (Zhe) Cuisine: Popular for less greasy but fresh and mild-flavored dishes, for example, West Lake Pickled Braised Fish or Boiled Shelled Shrimp.
• Fujian Cuisine (Min): The coastal region is known for its delicious seafood and special cutting techniques that enhance the aroma of dishes, such as fried golden bamboo shoot with minced chicken.
• Anhui (Hui) Cuisine: Emphasizing local vegetables (bamboo and mushroom crops) and herbs, famous dishes are Fuliji grilled chicken and braised turtle with ham.

These eight traditional cuisines are just the best known, but there are more excellent food styles in China that can be found in Beijing, Dongbei or Shanghai cuisine. One fact is for sure: wherever you are in China, you will always have a great selection of great food.

German wines

Germany has a good reputation among international wine experts for its pure aromatic white wines, especially Riesling with its fruity and elegant taste. While Germany is best known as a country of white wines, today red grape varieties, such as Spatburgunder (Pinot Noir), cover a third of German vineyards.

Wine production in Germany varies and comes in styles of dry, semi-sweet and sweet white wines, rosé wines, red wines and sparkling wines. Most of the wines are made in the dry style, although a large part of the exported wines are sweet. Special features are given due to the northern location, which is responsible for the different and outstanding quality of some of the German wines. Probably the most distinctive feature of German wine is the high level of acidity, which is caused by the less ripeness of the grapes.

So do German wines match Chinese cuisine…

Are German wines and Chinese food compatible?

Many wine enthusiasts highlight the good combination of Chinese dishes and German wines. Especially the famous fresh and fruity Riesling is balanced with spicy Chinese dishes. For example, David Rosengarten mentioned in an article the perfect pairing of Chinese cuisine and German Riesling.

The German Wine Institute recently gave a presentation on German wine and Chinese food pairings at SIAL 2012 in Shanghai. Explanations were given on the sensory interaction of flavors and flavors that are compounded in food and wine and the coordination of these flavors. They concluded that rich, spicy food should be paired with dry wines like Pinot Noir, while rich, understated food goes best with a dry Silvaner. The German Wine Institute also offers an excellent app on its website, which helps you find ideal food and wine pairings.

To highlight the compatibility of German wine and Asian food, award-winning author and wine critic Jeannie Cho Lee published in collaboration with the German Wine Institute a new 52-page booklet on pairing German wines with eight different Asian cuisines: “Perfect pairings: German wines and Asian flavorsA revealing interview by Studio 4 host Fanny Kiefer with Jeannie Cho Lee about her new book and German wines can be seen here.

In general, it can be said that wines, which are capable of pairing with Chinese food, need to have a certain level of acidity and versatility to serve different cooking styles. Most exported German wines have this refreshing character with firm acidity, which can add value even to strong and spicy foods. Due to their versatility, German wines can withstand intense Chinese flavors and ingredients much better than other wines.

So which German wines go with which Chinese dishes…

Chinese food and German wine pairings

There are some factors that must be taken into account to make a good pairing between wine and food. The recipe must be seen in terms of the way of its preparation, the fat content, the digestibility and its intensity in aroma and flavor. On the other hand we have to look at the wine and its main characteristics, including its grape and origin characteristics, quality characteristics, the style of the wine, its maturity and the level of alcohol, sweetness and acidity.

For a standard Chinese feast, a German Spatburgunder (Pinot Noir) and dry Riesling are a safe choice. To balance the flavors of white meat dishes, choose a Riesling with sufficient aroma, body, and weight (for example, Riesling Kabinett). The red Pinot Noir will accompany more forceful dishes such as Pekinese duck or roast suckling pig. Offering both wines from the start of the meal ensures that different preferences can be catered for.

Complementary to a Cantonese seafood meal is a dry Riesling, Pinot Blanc, or a Franconian Silvaner (for example, Silvaner Spatlese). By adding condiments, such as black bean sauce, light to medium bodied German red wines can round out the meal. Another option for steamed seafood dishes with light, delicate flavors are German sparkling wines (for example, Secco Juventa White).

When it comes to less mild flavors, caused by chili or black bean sauce, the perfect wine is an intense Spatburgunder from a mature vintage, which is able to balance strong flavors (eg Spatburgunder dry). For roast meat dishes (duck, goose or pork) that are often served with sweet soy sauce, you should look for a full-bodied German red wine such as Portugieser or Dornfelder (eg Portugieser Feinherb).

Of course, the perfect pairing also depends to some extent on personal preference. Therefore, everyone has to find their own match when it comes to food and wine pairings. German wines are generally very versatile and, due to their fairly firm acidity, are suitable for Chinese cuisine. It only remains for me to wish you good luck in finding your perfect match and would love to hear about your experiences with Sino-German pairings.