Thai food is known for its complex, robust flavors. However, you haven’t lived unless you’ve tried Thai food with a glass of wine you haven’t lived.
The right glass of wine can enhance the complex flavors of Thai food. It can also cleanse the palette and prepare it for another bite of delicious food.
However, only some bottles of wine pair perfectly with Thai food, so choose the wine pairings carefully.
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Tips for Pairing Thai Food With Wine
Thai food is filled with spicy flavors. Therefore, you must pair it with wines that balance the flavor without ruining the food’s flavor.
Do not pair full-bodied, tannic red wines, oak-aged wines, or wines with a high alcoholic content with Thai food. These wines have extremely intense flavors that will ruin the food’s flavor.
Off-dry, fruit-flavored wines are better for Thai food. They have fruity flavors that will balance out the rich flavor of Thai food.
Pair Thai food with wines with demi-sec, Spätlese, off-dry, or Kabinett on the label.
You can also pair sparkling wines with Thai food. Sparkling wines are acidic, so they can cut through the dish’s richness and enhance its flavors. However, sparkling wine does not pair well with super-spicy Southern Thailand dishes.
You can pair these spicy dishes with Rose wines. The fruity Rose will balance out and tone down these spicy flavors.
What Wine Pairs With Thai Food?
When it comes to Thai food, you must choose the right wine. The right wine will enhance the dish’s flavor.
Pad Thai
Pad Thai consists of sweet and sour noodles. It works best with German Riesling.
German Riesling is aromatic and extremely refreshing. It has crisp notes of apples, peaches, apricots, and pears. It is also acidic, balancing the richly sweet and sour flavor.
Thai Spring Rolls
Whether you order or make Thai spring rolls with vegetables or shrimp. Spring vegetables give you a fresh burst of flavor.
Pair Thai spring rolls with acidic white wines with a relatively neutral flavor. Prie Blanc is the perfect choice for spring rolls.
It has a relatively neutral flavor that will not overpower the shrimp or the vegetable’s delicate flavor.
If the spring rolls are fried, the Prie Blanc’s acidic flavor will cut through the greasy flavor.
Pad See Ew
Pad See Ew translates to stir-fried soy sauce noodles. This popular dish consists of Chinese broccoli, egg, and beef.
Red wine works best with Pad See Ew. Unoaked Pinot Noir has the perfect flavor to balance Pad See Ew’s flavor.
Pinot Noir ranges from light to medium-bodied. The soft tannic yet bright acidic notes of cherry, raspberry, and mushroom contrast beautifully with the Pad See Ew.
Pinot Noir balances out the Pad See Ew’s umami flavor.
Tom Kha Gai
Tom Kha Gai, or chicken coconut soup, is loaded with coconut flavor and a hint of tart citrus.
It is known for its lemongrass, fish sauce, coconut milk, herbs, and chili paste.
Muscadet works well with Tom Kha Gai. Although Muscadet has a neutral flavor, it has some minerality.
This minerality allows the flavors of the Tom Kha soup to shine.
Green Papaya Salad
Green Papaya salad is a delicious vegetarian dish and one of the most underrated dishes.
Also known as Som Tum, green papaya is made with carrots, tomatoes, cabbage, garlic, chilies, fish, sauce, lime juice, herbs, and spiced palm sugar.
Green papaya salad contains fruity, salty, spicy, and nutty flavors.
Aromatic white wines such as Grüner Veltliner or German Riesling pair perfectly with green papaya salad.
The rich acidity of the wine cuts through the flavorful green papaya salad. However, it also adds notes of spice and minerals, which contrast beautifully with the green papaya salad.
Red or Green Curry
Typically, red and green curries are made with coconut milk. However, the color of the chilies used in the curry separates the two dishes.
Nevertheless, Gewürztraminer is the perfect wine for both red and green curries.
Gewürztraminer has a dominant lychee flavor. It also has subtle notes of pineapple and apricot.
The refreshing acidity will help town down the spicy flavor of the chilies.
Yellow Curry
Yellow curries are the least spicy variety of curry. It is made with cumin, turmeric, ginger, coriander, ginger, bay leaves, and many other spices.
Hearty, savory yellow curry pairs well with full-bodied white or soft-bodied red wines.
For example, soft, earthy red wines such as Côtes du Rhône pairs perfectly with yellow curry.
The wine will enhance the spices in the curry, and the fruity flavor will balance out the spicy flavor.
Chicken Satay
Chicken satay is another tasty Thai meal. Chicken breast, tenderloins, or thighs is cut into pieces and marinated in a mixture of coconut milk, salt, curry powder, curry paste, and coconut milk.
The meat is then placed onto skewers and grilled to perfection.
Chicken satay is filled with sweet, spicy, savory, and smoky flavors. A glass of off-dry Rose wine is best for chicken satay.
Off-dry Rose wines have an acidity that balances out the rich flavor of the chicken satay. The fruity notes balance the savory, smoky, and spicy flavors of the chicken satay.
If you want to pair chicken satay with white wine White Zinfandel is the perfect option.
White Zinfandel has floral yet fruity notes and a subtle acidity that works well with the chicken satay.
Thai Beef Salad
Thai beef salad is filled with chilies, herbs, and fresh, crisp vegetables. Therefore, dry, crisp Rose or fragrant white wine is perfect for this dish.
Dry Rose or Sauvignon Blanc are the best options for Thai Beef Salad. The acidic wine will cleanse the palette of the complex spicy flavors of the dish.
Final Thoughts
Thai food is filled with lots of distinct, robust flavors. These flavors call for wines that accentuate the dish without overpowering its flavors.
Luckily, you don’t have to worry about wine pairings since you got a list of the ideal pairings for Thai food.