Hi everyone!
I’m making this for the first time tonight:
And I’m really not sure what to serve with it! Quite a lot of big flavours…
What would you suggest?
Hi everyone!
I’m making this for the first time tonight:
And I’m really not sure what to serve with it! Quite a lot of big flavours…
What would you suggest?
If you have a dry gewurztraminer to hand, that could work. Another, less expected one, could be an archetypal sort of NZ Sauvignon Blanc, a match I discovered accidentally while in Hong Kong (and your dish does have a sort of nodding acquaintance with Cantonese cuisine). Chilled obvs.
@Ghost-of-Mr-Tallis has suggested the obv dry Gewurtztraminer
what about a Gruner ? can take a hit of spice
I agree with @Ghost-of-Mr-Tallis regarding the NZ SB. This one could work well, I think:
A Grüner should work well too, if the chilli flavour is not too intense, as it seems to work well with ginger/ spring onion combo. The Society’s one is great. Arneis might do the job too - or, my go to spicy food wine - Alsace PG…
Ooh, great advice, all! It’s unlikely I would have picked a NZ SB but that’s a really good shout from the sounds of it!
@Inbar Any excuse to drink Alsace PG is also good in my eyes! Might convince Mr Laura we need to go to the showroom to get a bottle of this so we can try that AND the NZ sauvignon… for research purposes.
push the boat out with the Hugel PG Laura
my star PG from this weeks walk around tasting
Though for big flavours the Edelzwicker would tick many boxes. I would not describe it as delicate as site blurb does.
That sounds like a winner of a dinner - let us know how it goes!!
Wine wise I can’t add any more than agreeing with the suggestions above. I’d probably lean towards the PG or Gruner but all should do a lovely job
Lovely. I like a nice piece of bass, although to my mind one has to be very careful as to what its cooked with. It’s very delicate and subtle (to me anyway) so big flavours swamp it.
Also it’s worth reading the Marine Conservation Societies view of the sustainability of wild sea bass due to massive commercial overexploitation - farmed is a bit better. Just a thought.
and I should have said I like to drink a crisp SB with mine.
Not an area of expertise for me, but I like sea bass every way, with spring onions and ginger yes Riesling , a dry one from the pfalz or Alsace but the chilli can overwhelm anything and in the east they drink sake with it or similar, an alternative and I have drunk it with sea bass without the "extras"is Pinot Noir, it goes well with salmon another meaty fish, your problem with whatever you choose is the strength of the other items with the sea bass.
Somehow sounds like too much for the sea bass. Depends also on how much you sizzle the ginger.
Wine: my choice would be the edelzwicker, but which of the 2 vintages on offer??
Do let us know.
Right, we’ve got a Trinity Hill Sauvignon Blanc in the fridge, and Mr Laura’s picking up a bottle of this:
The description suggests it’ll be a match with these kinds of flavours and I haven’t tried this in yonks!
Now we can compare the two. And if the PG works, I’ll splash out on the Trimbach @Kent_wino suggested and do it again once I’m sure I can do the recipe justice.
That’s a really good point, actually!
I’ve just gone to check ours and actually realised I’m obviously going daft in my old age - it’s actually sea BREAM not bass! But it’ll still match the flavours and the dish fairly well - I’ll just make sure I’m careful with cooking times. And, most importantly, it’s sustainably sourced (or so Waitrose assures me!)
Agreed - need to catch them yourself like you! I don’t know how environmentally friendly bass farming is, hopefully rather better than farmed salmon!
On the wine match topic, it’s quite a meaty fish - always strikes me as a halfway house between the white and oily fish - with some quite big flavours. I would be careful not to overdo the ginger and chilli. Alsace white sounds like a good idea, probably one of the cheaper blended ones, or a Gruner Veltliner as already suggested. Maybe as Aussie Riesling or NZ Pinot Gris would do a good job too?
We have a Mad Fish riesling knocking about somewhere too - when I do the dish again I’ll give that a try too!
Sea bream is much better than sea bass. Bravo.
I love that madfish Riesling.
Perhaps miss out the ginger and chilli!!!
Reminds me of a niece when an older teenager, asked for a choice of sandwich…“BLT but with no lettuce or tomato”
You could of course not have wine WITH the food, but afterwards. That way, enjoy the Bream, and the wine without the worry of conflict. Then after some time have a pud, and a totally different wine…a PX?
The verdict is in!
So, the NZ SB was a surprisingly fresh match and worked really well! More subtle but definitely stood up to the flavours. Mr Laura really preferred this one as a match (and is enjoying another glass now!)
Then the Pinot Gris! Oh my! For me it was perfect, so soft and the lovely hint of sweetness (it’s a 3 out of 9 on the sweetness scale) was just what the chilli needed. Glorious!
If only I had pudding and PX like @Ludlow_Steve suggested - the dinner was lovely but not filling enough for me! #stillhungry
Thank you for sharing this @laura.
May give this recipe a whirl next week.
But what to drink ?
Thanks for the feedback - will have to try the recipe …think I will try with PG and Gruner