Son Tinh guide to food pairing – Part 3
Whether it’s fried, steamed, grilled, baked, broiled or even just boiled, there are plentiful ways to prepare dishes with these ingredients, all of which offer different textures and tastes. With that being said, Son Tinh Original Ruou’s array of liquors provides the perfect variety to offset against a variety of ingredients. We spoke with the Highway 4 restaurant chain’s Dan Dockery to share with us his favourite poultry and seafood dishes and give us insight on how they pair with Son Tinh.TASTES LIKE CHICKEN
Chicken, the default white meat, is by far the most popular ingredient in Vietnamese cooking. On average the country consumed over 8kg per person in 2015, and will stand to double that number by 2021. (link)
Used in many dishes for either breakfast, lunch or dinner, chicken is only rivaled by the nation’s love of pork.
Our first dish to arrive was sautéed chicken with cashew nuts (Luon Ga Xao Hat Dieu). This is a tantalising collage of cubed chicken breast oozing in a thick spicy-red sauce filled with green peppers, onions, shiitake mushrooms, carrots and cashew nuts.
Sautéed over an extremely hot flame, the dish is loaded with spicy and sour flavours. These flavours are best paired with Son Tinh Chanh Leo (passion fruit), since the sour taste of the ruou’s passion fruit helps to better accentuates the bittersweet essence of the green peppers, slightly caramelised onions and buttery mushrooms.
The chicken may be the main theme that holds the dish together, but don’t count out the crunchy bite of roasted cashew nuts, which adds an extra subtle savoury element to the medley in the stir fry.
We take a generous helping of sautéed chicken, with sauce and all and pour it on top of a bed of aromatic white rice and finish with another sip of Chanh Leo and savour the honey sweet aftertaste to fully bring out the tanginess of the first course. Along with other spicy dishes, you can also try pairing Son Tinh Chanh Leo with a variety of charcuterie plates as the passion fruit pairs perfectly with strong cheeses and smoked meats.
FROM SEAFOOD AND BEYOND
For our seafood dish, we chose a light lotus root and shrimp salad (Goi Cu Sen Tom Ngu Sac). This colourful blending of shrimp, lotus root, sesame seeds, mint, basil, carrots, tomatoes is a wonderfully healthy appetizer.
Drizzled in a light vinaigrette, each mouthful offers a burst of citrusy flavours as the lotus root and shrimp absorb the traditional simple, yet effective Vietnamese salad dressing of fish sauce, lime, and sugar.
With fragrances similar to an apple cider, the sweetness of Son Tinh Tao Meo (Rose Apple) perfectly accompanies any zesty dish.
The shrimp flavours are subtle in this salad, almost as though they are used as a soft texture to balance the crunch of lotus root.
However, if you are a fan of potent seafood flavours, Tao Meo also pairs well with grilled meats. You can try a pairing Tao Meo while barbequing your favourite seafood shish-kabobs, grilled fish, oysters or crab.
INFINITE POSSIBILITIES
This concludes our deep dive into the delicious world of Vietnamese food and alcohol pairing.
Son Tinh Guide to Food Pairing – Part 1
Son Tinh Guide to Food Pairing – Part 2
With so many taste sensations and options, just remember that these are general rules that one can follow, but at the end of the day if you are satisfied with your meal and the drink that accompanies it, then that is all that matters. The main rule is to have fun and savour each and every bite.
Do you have a favourite combination that we have not tackled here? We would love to hear your food and drink experiences while using Son Tinh.
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