Tried & Tested: Nonya Chicken Curry with Trimbach Riesling

The dish:

I was told that Trimbach’s Riesling would be a great match with curry as it’s renowned for being a perfect partner with kedgeree. I thought I’d try it with a Nonya curry recipe, a style of cuisine particularly popular in Singapore which combines the heritage of Malaysian and Chinese cooking.

I must admit that I was blow away by both the curry and the wine match: The curry itself was fantastic – a warming dish of fragrant herbs and spices with cooling, rich coconut. It’s probably the best curry I’ve ever made and one which was utterly complemented by the wine.

The wine:

I’ve tried the Trimbach Riesling before - it’s a bone dry, crisp, citrusy wine which makes a mouthwatering aperitif. But I wasn’t prepared for its complete transformation with food.

The austerity and steely acidity of the wine fell away to reveal layers of complexity when paired with the spicy curry. The wine became creamier in texture, its lime flavours echoing those in the dish, while the fruit became peachy and tropical. I started to detect hints of coconut, coriander leaf and grapefruit on the finish along with... (yes, this was one of my tasting notes)...“ripples of pandan leaf”. I might have started to go over the top at this point, but I became convinced that this was the best food and wine match I’d ever tried!

Rick Stein’s Chicken Curry Kapitan from Far Eastern Odyssey

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 Kg skinned boneless chicken thighs

4 heaped tbsp desiccated coconut

2 tbsp vegetable oil

Curry paste made up of below, whizzed into smooth consistency in blender:

• 6 dried red Kashmiri chillies, soaked in hot water for 30 mins then drained
• 275g shallots or onions, roughly chopped
• 2 tsp five spice powder
• 2 tsp turmeric powder
• 25g garlic, roughly chopped
• 50g peeled fresh ginger
• 4 fat lemon grass stalks, core chopped
• ½ tsp shrimp paste
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil

400ml coconut milk

2 x 7.5cm cinnamon sticks

2 tsp palm sugar

Juice of half lime

Handful of coriander leaves – roughly chopped as garnish

(I also added an orange pepper and some baby corn for some veggie crunch – these were cooked about 5 mins from the end)

Serve with boiled basmati or Thai fragrant rice.

Method:

Cut the chicken thighs into thick strips. Heat up a wok or large fry pan over medium heat and add desiccated coconut – toast for a few mins until golden. Leave to cool then whizz in a processor, grinding finely.

Add oil to wok or fry pan on low heat. Add spice paste and fry for five mins, turning occasionally. Add chicken and fry for further 2-3 mins. Add coconut milk, cinnamon, sugar and teaspoon of salt and simmer for 30 mins until chicken tender and sauce reduced and thickened slightly.

About 5 mins from the end I added some orange pepper and baby sweetcorn, but feel free to add any veggies you like or omit.

Add the lime juice and toasted coconut and simmer for 1 more minute. Garnish with chopped coriander and serve with rice.

By Chris Penwarden