Lamb braised in a Chinese sand pot is spectacular winter fare. If you're making it at home, use the black skinned lamb: it's sweeter, with a gelatinous skin that has more flavour without being too gamey; most Chinese restaurants use older lamb.
The lamb pieces are par-boiled in water with lots of ginger to remove impurities. They're then braised with ingredients that differ from place to place, but the main ones are fermented red bean curd paste, five-spice powder and ginger. The braising brings out the succulent bone marrow and sticky meat gelatin. Crunchy freshwater chestnuts and deep-fried bean curd skins are often simmered
in the same pot. They add contrasting texture and soak up the juices. Fu yu, or white fermented bean curd paste, rounds out the combination.
The best wine needs to be sufficiently fruity to complement the rich sauce. Balanced tannins and fresh acidity will go a long way to liven up the palate.
Tohu Pinot Noir 2004, Marlborough, New Zealand
Marlborough is not just known for sauvignon blancs, and this Tohu is great. It's medium garnet in colour