Finding the best wine with stir fry is a simple wine pairing. Use these wine recommendations to have a great experience at Chinese restaurants, take-out, and cooking. This guide will focus exclusively on wine; however, some people at your table might prefer Asian beer instead.
Chicken Stir-Fry With Sweet Sauce
The type of fry sauces you have in the dish is essential to finding the best wine pairing. Let’s say you have a stir fry that emphasizes sweet flavors. For example, the dish might have brown sugar or other sweet ingredients. With sweet chicken stir-fry, sweet wines are a complimentary wine choice.
Try picking up a bottle of off-dry Riesling. If you cannot find that bottle, the flavor profile of sweet or semi-sweet Riesling also goes well with this type of Asian dish.
Beef Stir-Fry With Sweet Sauce
There are a few ways to combine wine with beef stir-fry. Riesling is a great choice again because of the wine’s crisp acidity. A light Pinot Noir is another good pick as an alternative to Riesling. A beef stir-fry dish featuring ginger may pair better with Chardonnay (learn Chardonnay pronunciation here) or a light French Beaujolais.
Cantonese Dishes
Your preferred classic comfort food might be different. If you like Cantonese-style dishes instead, keep reading to discover the best wine with stir fry for this type of dish. The critical taste components to keep in mind with Cantonese cuisine are spices like ginger, chives, coriander, plum sauce, and white rice. Cantonese dishes are known for their salty quality due to soy sauce. Sparkling wine like champagne, including Grand Cru Champagne, is your secret weapon to keep up with the depth of flavor in this type of dish. Other white wine options include a developed Chardonnay or a Sauvignon Blanc.
Vegetable Stir Fry And White Wine
Do you prefer vegetarian Chinese cuisine? Don’t worry; we’ve got you covered. When ordering this dish in Asian restaurants, most bottles of white wines will work well. Specifically, a Pinot Blanc or Pinot Gris bottle is a perfect wine pairing (now, find out how Sauv Blanc vs Pinot Grigio compare). To bring variety to your Chinese food pairings, try a bottle of Chenin Blanc instead.
What About Chinese Wine?
A few years ago, I discovered Chinese wine in a documentary. Chinese wines are less well-known in the West and can be more challenging to find. Despite that, an Asian food pairing is hardly complete without covering this type of wine.
I consulted a leading wine database, Wine-Searcher, to identify a few top Chinese wines you can try. Look for a Kanaan Winery Riesling (Ningxia, China) for a Chinese Riesling. Another approach to Chinese food pairings is to pick up a bottle of Chinese Chardonnay like Silver Heights Family Reserve Chardonnay (Ningxia, China).
For an entirely different experience, you can try Chinese rice wine. Since rice wine is not made from grapes, I don’t consider it wine. That doesn’t mean this beverage doesn’t offer complex flavors, though.
Chinese Food Sauces and Wine Pairing
There are many different kinds of sauces in Chinese cuisine. It’s helpful to know the most common sauces and the flavors they offer to have an even more enjoyable dining experience.
Light Soy Sauce vs. Dark Soy Sauce
For this sauce comparison, I’m inspired by a great post at Garlic Delight on Dark vs. Light Soy Sauce.
Soy sauce is made from some common ingredients, such as soybeans, wheat, and salt. In Chinese cuisine, it is a popular base ingredient. There are a few key differences between light and dark soy sauce.
Light soy sauce is more popular and has a lighter color and heavier salt content. If you use cups of sauce for dipping, you are probably using light soy sauce. A high acid wine like a dry Riesling is a good option for Chinese dishes emphasizing light soy sauce.
In comparison, dark soy sauce is thick and sweeter. It is more common in northern Chinese dishes. I would recommend a Chardonnay or sparkling wine as a good bet from a wine pairing perspective.
Hoisin Sauce
Like soy sauce, Hoisin Sauce is made from soybeans. However, it is much thicker than other types of sauce. In Asian cuisine, it is one of the most typical examples of Chinese flavor in cooking.
Asian dishes featuring hoisin sauce as a critical ingredient pair best with Chardonnay and off-dry Riesling white wines. These white wines are a good pick because there is an acidity match. The significant salt content in this sauce so the acidity balances saltiness.
Best Wine With Stir Fry In Summary
Finding the best wine with stir fry is relatively easy. Focus your wine pairing suggestions on white wines like Alsace Pinot Gris, unoaked Chardonnay, and Pinot Grigio. You need a wine with significant acidity to refresh your palate after eating food with salty elements.
