Braised eggplant and minced pork with salted fish is a wonderful, hearty dish, needing only some hot steamed rice to extend all the rich flavours in the sauce, especially that of the salted fish. The rice also adds texture to the combination. The eggplant is deep-fried before being stir-fried with shallots, pork and salted fish, whose flavours are all soaked up by the sponge-like eggplant. Other flavours include oyster sauce and bean paste, letting the combination walk a precarious tightrope between sweetness and saltiness. The best wine with this dish needs a good dose of brown flavour notes which will link up harmoniously. Frisky, lively and bright blonde flavour notes would be awkward with the dish.
Zenato Ripassa Valpolicella 2006, Veneto, Italy
Making ripassa wine is a necessity. The Veronese have light and fruity wines with seafood and hefty wines, such as amarone, with chunky meats and winter fare. They also need something that sits in the middle: a bit of an all-rounder for daily drinking. The ripassa is made with leftover amarone pulp mixed with new Valpolicella wine, which would otherwise be more like Beaujolais. This Zenato Ripassa is a perfect match with eggplant with salted fish. The rich raisin notes from the amarone pulp give the wine a lovely richness and, of course, versatility to pair it with the equally rich depth of the salted fish. The deceptively simple tannins and balanced acidity of this wine round out the eggplant texture while giving it some freshness. Both the food and wine are compatible in strength.
Available for HK$245 from Valdivia (tel: 2555 7431)
Ata Rangi Crimson Pinot Noir 2007, Martinborough, New Zealand
This wine is filled with the taste of lively, fresh berry fruit. It's wonderfully silky and quite understated. The width and depth of the pinot noir berries set up the wine as a perfect match with eggplant with salted fish. With its gentle oak and fruit purity, the wine is delicious with the sweet and savoury balance of the dish.