BEST CHICKEN RICE WINE PAIRINGS
Hainanese chicken rice is undoubtedly a Singaporean hawker food icon. The winning combination of fluffy, fragrant rice, punchy lime-spiked chilli and tender chicken forms something much greater than the sum of its parts.
Fortunately for wine-lovers, this beloved national dish is also very versatile with wines, and an easy starting point if you’re inclined to start experimenting with Singaporean hawker food and wine pairing. The best chicken rice wine pairing should be something with a sufficiently bold flavour to stand up to the intense aromatics of the dish, without veering into the extracted, tannic, high alcohol and high-octane style that, while much beloved by Asian towkays everywhere, are the enemy of most Southeast Asian dishes (especially spicy ones!). While chicken rice varies widely in style, the following two pairings should be relatively foolproof:
Our surefire white wine and chicken rice recommendation is Alsatian Pinot Gris. Richer and more full-bodied than the more familiar Italian Pinot Grigio despite originating from the same grape, Alsatian Pinot Gris offers up a savoury, spicy bouquet of ginger, white button mushrooms and honey. For an even better pairing, try an off-dry style, as the residual sugar balances out the chilli heat and complements black sweet sauce too.
Our failsafe red wine and chicken rice recommendation is Oregon Pinot Noir. While we love our red Burgundies, their subtle nuances can often be overpowered by the spices and umami of Asian food. Pinot Noir from the New World, on the other hand, is generally more fruit-forward, and the sweet ripe red fruit and coffee / caramel oak tones of Oregon Pinot Noir are a great match for chicken rice.
Of course, being true hawker food lovers, we all have our own strong views on what comprises the “perfect” spoonful of chicken rice, especially with all the condiments that usually accompany the dish. Those who prefer slathering their rice with black sauce may find that pairings intended for spice-loving masochists who dunk every slice of chicken in chilli sauce don’t quite hit the spot. With that in mind, we’ve also curated the best chicken rice wine pairings for connoisseurs who know exactly how they want their chicken rice.
Black sauce lovers: Lashings of sweet black sauce call for an equally brash wine pairing, and Californian Zinfandel with its high alcohol (often with small doses of residual sugar) and extracted fruit fits the bill.
Ginger sauce lovers: Gewurztraminer (most often from Alsace) is a little bit of a cheat-code if you’re dealing with very aromatic or spicy Asian food. Gewurztraminer’s flamboyant aromas of rose (think bandung!), lychee and exotic fruit are more than capable of standing up to ginger and garlic.
Chilli lovers: Although Riesling goes with everything—including chicken rice—we’re trying to steer away from run-of-the-mill wine recommendations here. But there had to be one Riesling on this list, and Spätlese Riesling from Germany with its liberal dose of sweetness mellows out chilli heat with ease, while citrus and tropical fruit flavours and racy acidity refresh the palate.
Why stop at pairing wine with chicken rice? If you’re interested in more Singaporean hawker food wine pairings, check out our Instagram page where we recommend the best wines for hawker food and all other things Singapore!
