Fried rice in lotus leaves is a classic Chinese dish. Fried rice varies a great deal, but is generally made with fresh rice, rather than day- old 'dry rice', so the texture is more moist and soaks up the fragrance of the lotus leaves.
The fried rice might include chicken, diced black mushrooms and even some dried cuttlefish to give depth to the aromatic rice.
The best wine for fried rice in lotus leaves needs a silky texture to extend the softness of the fresh rice, yet needs a harmonising gentle perfume.
The dish has warm and tan notes, so racy sunny wines such as riesling and gruener veltliner will set up too much contrast and leave an awkward gap.
Louis Latour Corton Charlemagne 2000, Burgundy, France
This is one of the most majestic and reliable of Burgundy grand crus and is by far the richest and most voluptuous - bordering on being custard. Despite this, the Corton wines are also capable of ageing for two decades, with the finest bottles from the 1970s still delicious today. This is good to pair with lotus leaf fried rice because of its incredible fruit depth, which aligns with the soft rice succulence and juicy chicken and black mushroom richness. The wine's fragrance is complex and leans towards ivory/tan notes, similar to that of the fried rice. The most noticeably outstanding link between the rice and the delicious Corton lies in the wine's ability to integrate and absorb the rice completely with mild adjustment and extensions, and yet the rice's savoury characters set another flavour platform for the pristine chardonnay fruit to be elevated.
Available for HK$1,100 from Remy (tel: 2845 5995)