Okra: an impossible food-wine pairing?!?
All right people, we’ve done this impossible thing before. But they were all warm ups for this one: okra!
The Brooklyn Guy, who eats local foods and drinks sparkling wine, recently admitted that okra is one of his favorite late summer vegetables at the farmer’s market. He’s not even put off by okra slime! While trying to match his pickled okra really would be impossible, there’s a chance of finding a wine match for his suggestion for cooked okra: “Imagine pureeing stewed okra with hot chilis and coconut milk, and using that to stew some chicken thighs or chunks of beef.” Can you imagine? Do you believe? The challenge is really more the okra/spicy/coconut with the dark meat.
Hit the comments with your suggestions!
Sep
25
2008
On September 25th, 2008 at 2:36 pm ,Benito wrote:
For most of the areas around here, sweet iced tea or beer would be your authentic match, depending on whether you’re eating after church or down at a bar & grill. There’s an old tradition of the menfolk heading out to the toolshed (or barn, or garage) after dinner ostensibly to try some pickled vegetables like okra or to look at a new piece of machinery. And that’s when the whiskey bottle is produced.
Fried okra, a favorite preparation here in the Memphis area, would need to be paired with a light, crisp sparkling wine like Prosecco.
A thick gumbo, on the other hand, presents more of a challenge. I’m going to take a cue from Thai cuisine and suggest a Gewurtztraminer.
On September 25th, 2008 at 11:10 pm ,Rori wrote:
I would just fry it. Whatever you would eat with fried food I would pair with it. Maybe something light, crisp, and refreshing like a sauv blanc.
I guess it might also depend on whether you fry it in a traditional cornmeal type beer batter or a light tempura batter. With the latter I would pair a light Rose.
On September 26th, 2008 at 6:45 am ,Demetria wrote:
We usually do okra african or indian style and then pair the dish with a wine that mingles well with the food and the spices.
On September 26th, 2008 at 9:17 am ,Dylan wrote:
Based on the good values Alder was talking about I would suggest a South African Sauv Blanc–hey if it doesn’t pair well, at least you got it for a great price.
On September 26th, 2008 at 1:45 pm ,Mike wrote:
My first try would be a barrel fermented Viognier that exhibits concentrated varietal flavor with moderate oak influences. I believe a rich Chardonnay/Viognier blend would also work. Don’t forget about White Zinfandel. When I routinely try 10 wines with a single dish White Zinfandel(with balanced sugar and acid levels)typically ranks as the 3rd best match 7 out of 10 times! Thank you Dr.Vino for all that you do! -Cheers
On October 3rd, 2008 at 2:21 am ,Fiona Beckett wrote:
You’d be pretty unlikely to eat okra on its own so it would obviously depend what else was on the plate or bowl. Most like it would be something spicy so I would probably turn to Grüner Veltliner, my default wine in these situations. Gewürz would probably be too powerful unless the okra was in a curry.
And the slime thing? Agree, deep fry it and sparkling wine is the answer!
On February 8th, 2012 at 2:00 pm ,Gdynia Lakiernik wrote:
Lakiernik Gdynia