Sushi and Wine Pairing
More and more people are exploring global cuisines to take a break from monotonous eating. Japanese food is one those cuisines, which has many unique dishes, like sushi! This exotic-looking dish is powered by healthy nutrients and robust flavors from its ingredients and dipping sauce.
To top it off, pairing sushi with wine is an even interesting way to enjoy it. However, it is not an easy task as the complexity of flavors, from a diverse range of ingredients used to prepare sushi, might interfere with the notes of the wine.
We have come up with an easy guide, which enables you to sip on your favorite wine with sushi. You may enjoy Sauvignon Blanc with salty sushi flavors, aromatic wines like Muscat Blanc or Gewürztraminer to balance the spiciness of wasabi, Pinot Noir to balance the soy sauce with its high acidity and best of the lot, any dry sparkling wine to contrast the fatness of raw fish and clear palate with each sip.
Avoid pairing sushi with ‘big reds’ (Cabernet Sauvignon, Nebbiolo or Sangiovese) as it can leave an unpleasant metallic taste or a sweet sparkling wine (Prosecco or Dolce) as it doesn’t quite match the lightness of sushi.
For those of you who prefer to personalize recipes, you can be as creative as you’d like to be while assembling sushi. We recommend you use a sushi-making kit to prepare this very tricky dish with great ease. You can find some great kit options at The Daring Kitchen along with well-researched product reviews as well.
Now that we have pretty much catered to most of your sushi-related concerns, let’s get started and read on how you can easily prepare sushi from the comfort of your home!
Ingredients
3-4 pieces of nori
1 cup sushi rice
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
½ teaspoon salt
Filling:
50g microgreen
2 fresh lettuce leaves, roughly chopped
4 baby carrots, cut into thin strips
1 cucumber, cut into thin strips
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1 avocado, peeled, deseeded, and cut into thin strips
Soy sauce, wasabi, pickled ginger (to serve)
Directions
1. Rinse sushi rice until the water runs clear. Add rice to 1½ cups of boiling water, cover, and let it cook on simmer. You may add a bit more water if required.
2. Meanwhile, boil rice vinegar, sugar, and salt in a separate pan until the sugar dissolves. Keep aside and let it cool.
3. Transfer the rice to a large bowl or a tray and then drizzle the vinegar mixture over it. Gently fold the rice and evenly mix vinegar in it without swooshing the cooked rice grains. Cover the rice with a damp cloth to prevent them from drying.
4. Take the bamboo rolling mat and put a piece of nori on it. Take some cooked rice (about 2-3 tablespoons) and pat it into a thin layer to evenly cover the nori sheet.
5. Place fillings into the middle of nori and then wrap it using the bamboo rolling mat. You can experiment with the proportion of ingredients you use for filling.
6. Remove the sushi log from the bamboo rolling mat and carefully cut it into 6 pieces with a sharp knife.
7. Serve with the dipping sauce of your choice and enjoy!
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