Fun with Sake and Food Pairing
When people find out about my Sake education, the first comment I hear is how great Sake goes with Sushi. And yes, I do agree that Sake does go well with Sushi but in reality, Sake can pair well with other ordinary foods like burgers, lasagna, pizza, and even chili.
I’m still fairly new to learning the diverseness of Sake pairing. So to improve my skills, I have been experimenting and having a lot of fun with it!
I recently tried pairing three different Sakes with Beef Bulgogi, Pesto pizza, and Chili. And, here are my findings:
1. Beef Bulgogi with Shiokawa Yamahai, Junmai Ginjo, Cowboy
– This full-bodied, rich sake with earthy, smooth texture paired wonderfully well with aromatic Bulgogi meat dish. It’s a big, bold Sake with 18.5% alcohol content, but amazingly, the alcohol acidity didn’t overwhelm the palate. It’s a wonderfully balanced Sake which I highly recommend with all your heavy, meaty dishes, even burgers.
2. Pesto vegetarian Pizza with Kubota Senjyu, Tokubetsu Honjozo
– I paired this Sake with Pizza because it was rated #2 Honjozo Sake by top Sake Pubs (Izakaya) in Japan. True to its accolades, this Sake was light and crisp on the palate with faint scents of ripe banana and baking spices on the nose that didn’t conflict with the Pesto sauce. When I tasted this Sake it was chilled. I wish I had taken the brewer’s suggestion to warm the Sake a bit to bring out its mellowness, and see how that might have paired with pizza. I think this Sake would pair well with light happy-hour types of dishes such as grilled chicken skewers and tortilla chips with salsa.
3. Chili with Tenryo Koshu, Junmai Daiginjo
– This pairing was a shot in the dark, as Chili does have prominent spice presence. This Sake utilizes special Nadeshiko flower yeast, and I did sense a presence of faint rose petal like aroma in the background that seemed to clash with heavy Chili spices. Its silky palate experience due to bottle aging and delicate aromatics just could not seemed to stand up against all the potent Chili seasoning. I feel this Sake would have stood out wonderfully had it been paired with lighter fair, such as salads and light fish dishes. For my next Chili pairing, I would definitely try Cowboy Yamahai.
Overall, it has been a successful experimentation. One thing I do have to remember is that Sake flavor profiles change with temperature. And, that would definitely add another layer of interest to Sake and food pairing adventure.
Shiokawa Yamahai, “Cowboy”
Type: Junmai Ginjo, Yamahai, Genshu
Seimaibuai: 60%
Alcohol Content: 18.5-19%
Rice: Niigata Shuzo Kotekimai
SMV: +4
Recommended Serving Temp: Chilled (50-60F), Room Temp (70F)
Niigata Prefecture, Japan
Kubota Senjyu,
Type: Tokubetsu Honjozo
Seimaibuai: Koji: 50%, Kake: 55%
Alcohol Content: 15-16%
Rice: Gohyakumangoku
SMV: +6
Recommended Serving Temp: Chilled (50-60F), Warmed (100F)
Niigata Prefecture, Japan
Tenryo Koshu, “Imperial Landing”
Type: Aged Junmai Daiginjo
Seimaibuai: 45%
Alcohol Content: 15-16%
Rice: Gifu Hidahomare
Yeast: Flower Yeast (Hanakoubo) from Flower Yeast Association of Tokyo University of Agriculture
SMV: +5
Recommended Serving Temp: Chilled (50-60F), Room Temp (70F)
Gifu Prefecture, Japan
These Sakes can be purchased via online store such as: truesake.com