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Italian Wine Pairings for Chinese Food, Page 2
Pairings at a Glance
Showing 11–20 of 32 dishes
Dan dan noodles
Dan dan noodles are Chengdu street food, hand-pulled wheat noodles under a sauce of Szechuan chilli oil, ground pork, preserved mustard (ya cai), sesame paste and black vinegar. The mala numbing tingle from whole Sichuan peppercorns is non-negotiable. Sparkling wine is the single best answer: Lambrusco di Sorbara's cherry-cranberry acid and CO2 buffer the chilli without amplifying the burn. Franciacorta works if you prefer white fizz.
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Salt and pepper prawns
Salt and pepper prawns follow the same Cantonese technique as salt-and-pepper squid: shell-on prawns deep-fried until the shells crisp, then tossed with Sichuan peppercorn, chilli, scallion and garlic. The shell carries more flavour and salt than the squid version. Vermentino di Gallura pulls out the prawn sweetness; Pecorino from Offida (Marche) adds the salty-savoury match.
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Salt and pepper tofu
Salt and pepper tofu applies the Cantonese fried-crust technique to cubed firm tofu: cornflour-dusted, deep-fried until shell-crisp, tossed with Sichuan peppercorn, scallion and dried chilli. The fried-crust and pepper-salt layer ask for high-acid whites. Falanghina del Sannio and Fiano di Avellino both nail the match; Franciacorta is the sparkling option.
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Szechuan chicken
Szechuan chicken covers a family of Sichuan-style stir-fries built on doubanjiang (fermented chilli bean paste), dried chilli, garlic and Sichuan peppercorn. Versions run from mapo-style-saucy to dry-fried la zi ji. The doubanjiang umami-salt layer needs a wine that carries both: Frappato from Vittoria and Lambrusco di Sorbara both land; Falanghina del Sannio holds on the white side.
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Xiao long bao
Xiao long bao are Shanghainese soup dumplings, first recorded at Nanxiang outside Shanghai in the 1870s. Thin wheat skins hold a bite of pork and hot bone broth that bursts on the first bite; the mature versions balance gelatin richness with black vinegar and fine ginger shreds. Italian sparkling with bright acid matches the broth without drowning it. Lambrusco di Sorbara (fizz, low tannin, cherry bite) is the sommelier pick for cutting pork fat and lifting the vinegar.
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Hot and sour soup
Hot and sour soup (suan la tang) is a Sichuan-Shanxi hybrid canonised in American-Chinese menus: pork-bone broth soured with black vinegar, heated with white pepper and chilli oil, thickened with cornflour, studded with wood-ear, tofu, bamboo shoot and egg ribbons. Franciacorta's fine mousse and bread-lees body cut the chilli-oil and vinegar tandem; Lambrusco di Sorbara is the fizz-red alternative.
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Mongolian beef
Mongolian beef is an American-Chinese chophouse invention (not Mongolian in origin): sliced flank wok-fried with scallion over a sweet-soy glaze thickened with cornflour. The deep caramelised-sugar coat and soy-umami weight call for a medium-body red with bright acid. Barbera d'Asti and Etna Rosso both nail the profile; Nero d'Avola from Sicilia DOC brings the mid-weight alternative.
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Peking duck
Peking duck is the imperial Beijing roast: whole duck air-dried, glazed with maltose, roasted until the skin crackles amber, then carved tableside into skin, meat and bone course. Served with thin Mandarin pancakes, scallion, cucumber and hoisin. The duck-fat richness demands a red with real acid spine. Etna Rosso (Nerello Mascalese) is the textbook match; Barbera d'Asti holds the mid-weight alternative.
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Singapore noodles
Singapore noodles are a British-Chinese and Hong-Kong invention despite the name: thin rice vermicelli wok-fried with curry powder, char siu, prawn, egg and shredded vegetables. Neither Singaporean nor mainland-Chinese in origin. The curry-spice aromatics meet sweet prawn over a dry, slightly oily base. Gewürztraminer from Alto Adige is the textbook match; Falanghina del Sannio holds well if you want a drier line.
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Siu mai
Siu mai are open-topped Cantonese dumplings filled with coarsely-chopped pork and prawn, finished with fish roe or shredded carrot. The wheat-starch wrapper stays translucent and slightly chewy when freshly steamed. Franciacorta and Conegliano Prosecco Superiore both cut the oyster-sauce glaze and lift the prawn sweetness. A drier still option: Falanghina del Sannio for its volcanic minerality.
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