A question I get asked all the time is, “What kind of wine do you pair with seafood?”
While there are many options of wine that I personally think work well with seafood, it can sometimes be a tricky pairing, especially depending on the types of sauce such as soy.
Another option for pairing with seafood is sake.
For those of you that are familiar with sake, you’re probably thinking, “DUH!” But, for many people sake is not something you see or think of every day. You may not even know what it is!!
Sake is a rice wine made in Japan with a special brewers rice called sakamai.
Umami, one of the 5 basic categories of taste which can also be classified as savory (think mushrooms, MSG, aged cheese, etc), is the key to what makes sake so special.
Amino acids are the basis of umami and are created in great quantities during the brewing process. Since rice has no sugar for the yeast to ferment, a process called ‘multiple parallel fermentation’ is used in which yeast is added to the rice to convert rice starch to sugar and then yeast is added to turn that sugar into alcohol. This is how you get the rich, umami flavors!
So. What does this all mean for seafood pairings??
I had the opportunity to experience Escape the Ordinary | “SEAFOOD × SAKE” hosted by JFOODO in which we were able to try delicious pairings of seafood and sake at Rappahannock Oyster Bar in DTLA.
The four course menu was expertly paired with different sakes that complimented each dish. I chose…
- Crispy oyster paired with Suzaku sake
- Peruvian Bay Scallops with Horin Sake
- Lobster Roll with Nanbu Bijin Shinpaku Junmai Daiginjo Sake
- Banana Bread Pudding
- A special chef’s treat of their ceviche!
Just like wine, it was so fun to try each sake on it’s own, eat a bite of food and then revisit the sake to see how the food and the wine meld together beautifully to form the perfect combination.
Experience these amazing combos for yourself at Rappahannock Oyster Bar where they will be doing a pop-up seafood and sake paring event November 22 – 24, 2019.
Learn more about the art of seafood and sake here!
