What wine goes with spicy Asian food?
I love Asian food. And other than Phat Thai in Carbondale and the occasional trip to Denver to some of the joints on Federal, it is tough to find great Asian food in the mountains. So when we were asked to dinner recently by friends who said Thai food would be the chow of choice, I instantly started thinking about a wine to bring to the meal. Of all the cuisines in the world, Thai may be the most difficult to pair with wines. The complexity of the flavors and the wide assortment of influences and ingredients make it tough to pin down. The Indian influences in the curry dishes, the sweet and sour flavors and the noodles are rooted in Chinese cuisine, and the smoky grilled meats all are a part of Thai cooking. Then there are the myriad exotic spices and ingredients, like tamarind, kefir lime, galangal, mangos and hot chilies. Getting hungry? The authors of the outstanding Asian cookbook “Hot Sour Salty Sweet: a culinary journey through Southeast Asia” devote just one page to wine and spi
