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Wine pairing grilled salmon with sake-soy sauce or miso-ginger sauce

In the summer of my freshman year in college years ago, my best friend Aimiya and I hang out with my grandpa Jack and his friends during their salmon fishing excursion in Alaska. In that memorable trip, we learnt about the various type of salmon including Chinook salmon and sockeye salmon, and the versatile “ulu” knife.

Aimiya and I were roommates through college and grad school. When she took up a science research job in Japan, we promised we would visit each other at least once a year. Last year I spent a week in Osaka and Kobe in Japan with her. We visited the Nada area during my stay and I developed a deep appreciation about sake production – including the heavenly “miyamizu” water and “Yamada Nishiki” rice.

bok-choy-ginger-side-for-grilled-salmon

Last month, both Grandpa Jack and Aimiya were visiting with us – there was one night overlapping their visits. My husband and I created this special grilled salmon with two Japanese-inspired sauces for dinner that night – in honor of that fantastic summer we shared with Grandpa Jack in Alaska back in our freshman year, and my visit to sake production in Nada. Here are the variations of sides and sauces to accompany our salmon entrée that evening:

  • Grilled salmon with sake-soy sauce served with sauté baby Bok Choy and basmati rice
  • Grilled salmon with miso-ginger sauce served with sauté sugar snap peas and Jasmine rice.

Recipe for our grilled salmon with sake-soy sauce or miso-ginger sauce

How to prepare our grilled salmon?

  • We chose a skin-on sockeye salmon, about one-inch thick. Skin helps to hold the salmon together, and not to stick onto the grill.
  •  Tip:  check for pin bones. Use a long-nose plier to pull out the pin bones.
  • Preheat your grill to medium high heat.  Tip:  clean and oil your grate.
  • Season your salmon with olive oil, kosher salt and coarse ground black pepper.
  • Cook the salmon skin-side down if you prefer crispy skin. About four minutes per side for a one-inch thick salmon. If crispy skin is not your taste, you can cook the no-skin side (presentation side) first.
  • Reduce heat to medium after the first flip. Cook another four minutes on the other side of the salmon.
  • If you prefer, you can broil your salmon in the oven, it takes just about four minutes to cook each side.
  • Or, if you like, you can cook the salmon on the stove top, medium high heat for four minutes per side.

How to make our sake-soy-ginger sauce?

preparing-salmon-with-sake-soy-sauce
  • 2/3 cup vegetable broth
  • 1/3 cup of unfiltered nigori sake
  • 3 tablespoon traditional brewed soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon of unseasoned rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon of finely grated ginger
  • 1 teaspoon of honey
  • Put all ingredients in a medium heat sauce pan, bring to a boil
  • Simmer until sauce reduced by half, about 10 minutes.
  • Stir in a tablespoon of unsalted butter before serving

How to make our miso-carrot-ginger sauce?

preparing-salmon-miso-carrot-ginger-sauce
  • 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 ½ tablespoons of white miso
  • 2 tablespoons of unseasoned rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon of finely grated ginger
  • 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
  • ½ teaspoon sugar
  • ½ teaspoon of ground white pepper
  • Combine all ingredients in a food processor, process until smooth.
  • This miso-ginger sauce has the most beautiful orange-yellow color. It can also be used as a salad dressing.

Wine Pairing with grilled salmon

Here are our wine pairings – grilled salmon with sake-soy sauce, or miso-ginger sauce:

  • Pinot Noir. We served a vintage from Sonoma, California; another from Willamette valley, Oregon.
  • Sake. Aimiya brought us a beautiful Ginjo grade sake, we called it “single malt” sake. 50% of each grain of rice that produced this sake has been milled (Japanese term “Seimaibuai”)

Do we have the right pairings for our grilled salmon with sake-soy sauce, or miso-ginger sauce?

  • Our Pinot Noir has black cherry and sandalwood aroma, faint scent of oak and spicy. Pinot Noir always pairs well with mild flavor fish like salmon and swordfish.
  • Our salmon is simply grilled – it is perfect even without sauce, to marry happily with pinot noir. We served our sauces on the side – to give our family members the option to drizzle the right amount of sauce they prefer on the salmon.
  • Both of our sake-soy sauce and miso-ginger sauce are not as sweet as Teriyaki sauce, but more aromatic and frequent with scent of ginger and soy undertone.
  • Scent of ginger goes really well with the sandalwood aroma from the Pinot Noir. We have ginger in both of the Japanese inspired sauces.
  • Pinot Noir pairs well with umami. Both our sake-soy-ginger sauce and miso-carrot-ginger sauce have the umami components in them.
  • The slight faint scent of oak in our Pinot Noir pairs well with the light smoke scent of our grilled salmon impart from the charcoal.
  • The nutty scent of the basmati rice (served with the sake soy ginger sauce) goes well with the grilled salmon and the sandalwood scent from our pinot noir.
  • The Jasmine rice (served with the miso carrot ginger sauce) pairs well with the floral jasmine undertone of the pinot noir.
  • Pinot noir pairs better with cooked (versus raw) vegetables.
  • We served sauté baby Bok Choy and sugar snap peas with our grilled salmon.
  • The cooked vegetables complement the sauces and allow the beautiful salmon to be the star of the evening.
  • Special note on sake: you might be wondering how the beautiful Ginjo sake faired. This sake was special, like an exceptional single malt, it is best to enjoy it by itself. We had it with salmon sashimi (our appetizer) as we were making the sake-soy-ginger sauce and the miso-carrot-ginger sauce. Grandpa Jack does not usually drink sake, and he liked this Ginjo sake very much.
  • When you apply the local rule to pairing, sake goes beautifully with both of our Japanese-inspired sauces. We have ginger in both sauces, sake in the sake-ginger sauce, and miso in the miso-ginger sauce. The elements of ginger, sake and miso are natural pairings with sake.

Final thoughts:

My sister (who lives in Oregon) told me that Oregon Pinot Noir is a proven classic pairing of northwest salmon, and we concur. Pinot noir is soft on tannin and long on acidity – these elements making it versatile and agreeable with a wide variety of grilled fish.

For our pairing, our friends at our dinner table were pleasantly surprised that Pinot Noir goes very well with our Japanese-inspired sauces. In our experience, Pinot Noir complements any sauce containing soy or/and ginger.

Our pinot noir pairing with grilled salmon and sake-soy sauce is a classic fusion of something new and something old – beautiful and perfect!

Quick  tips:   about Pinot Noir:

  • If you are to pick a wine to please both your red and white wine friends, the lush Pinot Noir is always an excellent choice of equalizer for both camps.
  • Temperature. In our experience, we find that Pinot Noir serving at 62°F – 58°F works the best with this salmon pairing.

Did you know:

  • Pinot Noir was the first fruit in the genome sequence research. The sequence was performed by French researchers over a decade ago back in 2007. The knowledge gathered from the research helps us to better understand the evolution of grapes and wines.
  • Pinot Noir is called Spatburgunder in Germany. And, Spatburgunder carries a slightly lighter hue than Pinot Noir in the States or that in France. Spatburgunder, like our Pinot Noir, has a wide range of aromatic bouquets including blackberry and cherry.

This special dinner, created by my loving husband, and sharing it with two people I love dearly – Grandpa Jack and my best friend Aimiya. It is indeed the very perfect pairings. Cheers!

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Wine pairing Tortellini with Italian Sausage

I am one of the biggest fans of my Grandpa Jack. I adore him and his passion for food, automobiles and adventure of life. Back in 2000, Grandpa Jack and I took a trip to Modena to visit the Ferrari factory. We also visited a cheese museum and a vinegar museum. It was during that memorable trip that I had my first taste of tortellini in a savory broth.

Since then, the beautiful and delicate tortellini is on our family dinner menu at least once in a couple of weeks, from tortellini in a rich broth to tortellini with sautéed spinach to our favorite – tortellini with Italian sausage. We are very fortunate to live in a town where we can buy fresh pasta and Italian sausage made by our local Italian delicatessen. Here is our version of “Tortellini with Italian Sausage”:

preparing-tortellini-with-italian-sausage
  • Our tortellini is filled with spinach and ricotta, mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
  • Our Italian sausage has fennel and black peppers seasoning. Remove casings and crumble the sausage.
  • Olive oil for sautéing
  • Sliced shallot
  • Fresh baby spinach leaves
  • Parmigiano-Reggiano (grated before serving)
  • Fresh basil leaves (chiffonade before serving)
  • Splash of Galliano
  • Pasta water (reserved from tortellini’s pasta water)

Fresh pasta cooks in minutes. We first sautéed the Italian sausage and shallot, deglazed with a splash Galliano, then tossed in the cooked pasta, spinach, some pasta water – add the grated Parmigiano-Reggiano and the chiffonade basil leaves – our weeknight supper is ready in minutes!

Here are our wine pairings to “Tortellini with Italian Sausage”:

  • Nouveau style of red Zinfandel with notes of sweet berry, anise and peppers.
  • Sangiovese with notes of black cherry and balanced levels of tannin.

So, do we have the right pairings for our version of “Tortellini with Italian Sausage”?

tortellini-with-italian-sausage
  • Our Italian sausage has flavors predominately of fennel and coarse ground black peppers. The Nouveau style of red Zinfandel is young and flavorful – its fruit notes pairs well with the sausage.
  • Our Tortellini is the co-star in this entrée and the medium body of the red Zinfandel pairs well with the weight and texture of the pasta. The taste and weight of Zinfandel varied based on how ripe the grapes were when it was bottled. We like the red Zinfandel that are juicy, fruity and peppery from the Dry Creek Valley in Sonoma, and from the Amador Valley in California.
  • Sangiovese from Italy or Sonoma also pairs well with Tortellini and sausage. The wine’s medium weight pairs well with the body of Tortellini. Sangiovese’s notes of fruits and balanced tannin also goes well with the Italian sausage.

Red Zinfandel and Sangiovese are easy-drinking and flexible – these pairings complement both the Tortellini and Italian sausage in flavor and body weight.

Quick tips about serving red Zinfandel:

  • Temperature. Chill the red Zinfandel to bring out the fruit flavor. 60°F – 55°F works the best for this pairing.
  • Wine glasses. We find the Chianti wine glasses (view on Amazon) work well with red Zinfandel and Sangiovese. The shape of a Chianti bowl and mouth brings these medium-bodied wines to your mid palette to taste the full flavor of the wines. Check out our blog on types of wine glasses.

We are in the camp of “drink what you like” – we think it’s informative to know about the rules of pairing food and wine – it is fine to break the rules when you know the rules. Go for it if you feel like serving a white burgundy with Italian sausage. When you are sharing a meal (be it a casual weeknight supper or a special occasion feast) with friends and family, you go ahead and drink what you like and enjoy your company.

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What to drink with Steak Diane

Growing up, my Dad always made ribeye steaks on the grill for us. But we would always have pan-fried fillet steaks (Steak Diane) for dinner whenever great-Grandma Diane or Grandpa Jack was visiting with us. Let me tell you about my great-Grandma, Diane – she was an elegant lady from New York City back in the 1920s. I always remember our sophisticated great-Grandma Diane (who lived till the graceful age of 97) – she is still one of the best dressed ladies I’ve ever known.

According to my grandpa, Jack, ‘Steak Diane’ was great-Grandma Diane’s favorite. Nowadays my husband and I are the designated ‘Steak Diane’ hosts for our family. I suppose there are many versions of ‘Steak Diane’. Our family recipe uses steak fillet, seared on the pan. We use the steak pan juice to make our steak sauce which includes butter, shallots, cremini mushrooms, garlic, beef stock, red wine, cognac, Worcestershire sauce, and Dijon mustard. Our sides are potatoes and mixed greens. We make ‘Steak Diane’ at least once a year on great-Grandma Diane’s birthday. We coined it ‘Jack & Diane Day” to honor great-Grandma Diane and her son, our Grandpa Jack. And, of course, we have compiled a playlist of the ‘Jazz age’ from 1920s to accompany our evening of celebration of life.

steak-diane-top10winecoolers

This set of pairings below is what we drink with ‘Steak Diane’ in our family gathering of ‘Jack & Diane Day” and, we always have the best time making our toasts to our elegant late great-Grandma Diane.

Here are our pairings to ‘Steak Diane’:

  • Cognac – Grandpa Jack’s choice.
  • Tennessee Whiskey – Dad’s choice.
  • Canadian Whiskey – Mom’s choice.
  • Earthy, not-aged Cabernet Sauvignons – my brother & my sister-in-law, my sister & my brother-in-law, my husband and my choices.

So, do we have the right pairings for our family version of ‘Steak Diane’? The fillet steak we use is seasoned with kosher salt and coarse ground black peppercorns, then it is pan-seared to medium rare. Our steak sauce is earthy, essence of steak and cognac. Our pairing is to complement our beautiful sauce.

  • Cognac works. It complements the sauce, as it was flambéed with cognac.
  • Tennessee Whiskey works. I don’t want to disagree with my Dad’s Jack Daniel’s. Jack Daniel’s uses charred oak barrels in its maturing process.
  • Canadian whiskey. My Mom is always right.
  • Earthy but not-aged Cabernet Sauvignons works. We usually have vintages from Napa, Sonoma and Wala Wala Valley. Our family members live in Northern California and Washington. We pick up boutique wines from various wineries that we have visited during the weekends. Then we sample and share our wines with friends and family on dinner gatherings at our home. As you have probably guessed – we love to cook and entertain at our home. (Our guests always stay at our home after dinners, and leave after breakfast in the morning. No ‘drink and drive’ for us.)

 Fun note:  I always keep the wine corks whenever we dine with Grandpa Jack – time spent with our loved ones are cherished memories.

Why do we pick not-aged Cabernet Sauvignons to pair with our version of ‘Steak Diane’?

  • We want a Cabernet Sauvignon that has a less predominant flavor of acid or tannin, but notes of currant or blackberry that would complement our ‘Steak Diane’. Hence our preference of Northern California Cabernet Sauvignons that are (in general) less austere but still rich yet soft. Of course, each wine maker has his/her intent of what characteristics are for their wines (in addition to the characters of a wine region); there are many Northern California Cabernet Sauvignons that are structured and aged in Bordeaux style.
  • We want a not-aged Cabernet Sauvignons. Sometimes (again, in general) an aged Cabernet Sauvignons can be oaky. We don’t want other prominent flavor to dominate our beautiful and earthy steak sauce.

Quick tips about serving Cabernet Sauvignons:

  • Temperature. In our opinion, many people tend to serve red wine too warm using a rule that says serving red wine in room temperature. We cannot image a room in the Arizona desert will have the same temperature as a room in the Scottish highlands. We find that red wine serving at 65°F works the best.
  • Wine glasses. You have the right wine paired with your star entrée, you want to serve your wine with the right glass at this memorable dinner. Glass body shape and mouth matter. Choose a red wine glass (view on Amazon) with an oval-shaped body (bowl) that is narrow at its mouth for your many red wines such as Cabernet Sauvignons, Bordeaux, and Merlot.
  • How full to fill up the glass? You want to leave room to swirl and smell the wine. For red wine, one-third or a hint over that will give you margin to swirl and not to spill.

P.S. On another day, we will share with you – our Bordeaux cabernet sauvignons pairing for ‘Steak Au Poivre’.