Do you ever wonder why so many people automatically reach for a beer to go with African, Asian, orAnswer: Beer is refreshing, and it does not clash with the many feisty, fiery flavors of chilies, herbs, spices and sauces that are the signature of these many and varied cuisines. But don't put away your wine glasses just yet! The Challenge of Spicy FoodPairing wine with hot and spicy foods can be extremely daunting, not least because of the many layers of flavors and ingredients involved, but also because most of us have had a least one bad experience where the wine paired completely overpowered or detracted from the dish. But all is not lost. By following a few simple guidelines, we can find an array of wines that don't just work with ‘hot & spicy,’ but actually (and more importantly) enhance both the wine and the food. The prevailing flavors of these cuisines tend toward a combination of hot, spicy, sweet, sour, bitter, and, often an added richness

from the incorporation of butter or dairy ingredients. These are the aspects I focus on when choosing a wine to match, and not whether the dish is based onbuy wine online hong kong beef, chicken, fish or vegetarian.buy wine baskets online on your preferences you can join in and compliment the spice and heat flavorsbest winemakers in the world by pairing with a dry, spicy wine or try to contrast with a sweeter wine.wine gift bags pinterest Now, I am by no means an expert on any of these cuisines;glass of wine 35 weeks

however, over time I have come up with a few useful guidelines. 1. Avoid Oak and High Alcohol The wines most suited to this spectrum of flavors are winesbuying wine online in georgia that are medium to low in alcohol, wines that are refreshing, and wines with crispAlcohol tends to negatively accentuate heat, whereas crisp acidity provides an enhancing contrast to both ‘heat’ and ‘richness’, while also lifting the many layers of flavor in the dish. Just think how often we squeeze lemon juice over a finished dish to brighten the flavors. Little or no oak treatment is another rule I adhere to when choosing a white wine. Heavy oak dominates and can really dumb down the flavors 2. Favor Fruity, Aromatic and Off-Dry Fruity, aromatic and off-dry whites are some of the bestThey are already well-recognized natural allies at theSweetness from the residual sugar in off-dry wines offers a

contrast, and balances the heat and spicy flavors. The sweetness also serves to showcase the many different flavors in the dish. Similarly, fruity and aromatic whites are excellentWhile dry, these wines can give the impression of sweetness that works to balance and compliment heat and spice. 3. Spice It Up with Crisp, Lighter Red For red wines, the things to watch out for are alcohol andI find that low to medium tannin wines work best, as wines with a lot of tannin can accentuate bitterness, as well as overpower the dish. As a rule, look for reds that are fruitier and/or spicy in style and have a good level of So that’s the theory part and now for some practicalWhen faced with an array of bottles on a wine store shelf? I know which ones have the characteristics I am looking for? Mary's Favorite Wines for Spicy If there is no willing and able sales assistant on hand, here are a few pointers that I hope are useful: Avoid the usual suspects such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz

and Merlot (alcohol, tannin, way too powerful), as well as oaky Chardonnay (oak, too powerful and many do not have enough refreshing acidity). If in doubt seek out Riesling, especially off-dry and medium sweet styles from Germany, the Fingerlakes, New Zealand or Washington State. Other aromatic and fruity whites worth considering include Albariño from Rías Baixas in Spain, Grüner Veltliner from Austria, Vouvray (especially off-dry) from the Loire valley in France as well as the intensely aromatic Gewürztraminer and Viognier wines. While the last two are not marked by high acidity, such is their aromatic and fruity intensity that they work really well with spicy foods. Champagne and Sparkling wines – Brut as well as off-dry styles, as well as the lighter and fruitier Asti and Lambrusco wines from Italy, can provide a delightful balance to both the flavors as well as And when it comes to red, my favorites are Barbera from Italy,

Beaujolais from France as well as our very own Zinfandel. These wines are all characterized by low to medium tannins, exuberant fruit and medium plus acidity, which provides both contrast as well as harmony to spicy foods. A really fun thing to do is to gather a few friends, try a number of these suggestions wines with an array of different dishes and see which pairings work best for you. It can be a really entertaining and
So turn up the heat and find some good pairings for all the wonderful African, Asian, Caribbean and fusion dishes that you like!
I would love to hear from readers: what are your favorite wines to drink with spicy foods? This post was requested by Angela! for Reader Request Week 2013. adapted and updated from a previous post back in 2008. (Images: Faith Durand and Egg Noodles with Rich Chicken Curry Sauce/Anjali Prasertong)YOU ARE HERE: LAT HomeCollectionsFeatures I don't think I've ever written about cioppino without getting into an argument.

That's probably as it should be. One of the definitive California dishes, cioppino is a classic soup of fish in a garlicky tomato-wine broth. And that's probably where the agreement ends. Definitive and classic though it may be, there are as many cioppino recipes as there are cioppino cooks. Just in my own kitchen, I rarely prepare it the same way twice. Part of this, of course, is because it is based on a mixture of fish and shellfish, and rarely will you go to the market and find exactly the same proportion of the same species you bought last time, all in perfect condition. Maybe more to the point, this is California, and here we tend to believe that provided a good final dish, how you get there is pretty much your own business. If you need the security of definitive, classic recipes in which every ingredient and garnish is specified with no room for deviation or inspiration, pick up a copy of Escoffier. Which is certainly not to say that we cioppino cooks don't have strong opinions about what is right and wrong.

Researching old recipes many years ago, I came across one from 1941 in a copy of the old Bohemian Life newsletter (published by the long-defunct brewery) written by Phil Townsend Hanna, under the nom de whisk Savarin St. Sure. In the next issue, one Vincent Quartararo wrote back, steaming mad. Seems Hanna had left out the crab. The choices for cioppino may seem endless, but don't let that scare you. Rather than thinking of the dish as coming from a specific recipe, think of it as a matter of happenstance governed only by a certain structure. The three absolutes in making cioppino are a wine-and-garlic-rich tomato sauce, an assortment of fish and/or shellfish, and a cooking technique that brings them together by layering the seafood in the pot, pouring the cooked sauce over the top and then heating just until the fish is done. After that, you're pretty much on your own. For the sauce: onions or scallions or both? White or red wine? There's not an ingredient that can't be questioned, and to tell the truth, I'm pretty happy with any combination of those … except the celery and the white wine.

I have to draw the line somewhere. In addition, I sometimes like to add cut-up squid to the sauce during the initial cooking — it braises to a silken texture and adds a lovely briny quality. Other times I'll add a quick stock made from simmering shrimp, crab or lobster shells. The other day I added bruised fennel seeds and dried oregano to the sauce, and I really liked that. Maybe I'll do it again? However you prepare it, the sauce should be well-cooked. This isn't your fresh-tasting marinara; the color should be brick-red so that the flavors are well-integrated. When it comes to the seafood, the choices multiply exponentially. You want some from each of three broad categories: meaty fish (such as swordfish, albacore, shark or monkfish), flaky fish (sea bass, rockfish, halibut or lingcod) and shellfish (shrimp, clams, mussels, spiny lobster or crab). If you have a fishmonger you deal with regularly, don't be afraid to ask for help. I've been buying fish for more than 20 years from Pete Siracusa of farmers market vendor J&P West Coast Fish;

I can just walk up and say "Cioppino, Pete," and he'll hand over the best combination from what he has. Generally, I aim for two parts meaty to one part flaky — and just as much shellfish as I can fit in the pot; nothing else delivers as potent a smell of the sea. Until recently, I had never added crab to my cioppino (some heir of Quartaro's is probably penning an angry e-mail on his iPad right now). To me, Dungeness crab is one of the greatest of all foods, and I like mine straight. But so many good cooks have recommended it for cioppino that I decided I had to try it. It was good, but I'm still not sure it's a necessity — certainly not as much as shrimp, clams and mussels. Still, it's certainly pleasurable in a sloppy, digging-out-crab-with-stained-fingers kind of way. It's like an Italian version of the crab with black bean sauce you get in Chinese restaurants. If you're going to use crab, I'd recommend buying it pre-cooked from the market (because it's going to be bathed in so much tomato sauce, the gain in flavor from cooking your own is not worth the hassle).