Stir-fried rice vermicelli with shredded pork and preserved cabbage is a humble dish but it can be sublime if quality ingredients are used. The rice vermicelli adds bulk, texture and a basic platform to soak up other flavours while the shredded pork lends sweetness and a savoury meat tone. Just about any type of preserved cabbage will work with this, from the spicy to the sweet to the salty.
This dish needs to be accompanied by a wine that is flavourful without being too assertive. The sake choice shows how well international flavours can be blended if we ignore traditional cultural boundaries.
Terrazas de los Andes Reserva chardonnay 2008, Mendoza, Argentina
On the Chilean side, the Andes Mountains dive steeply into the Pacific, but on the Argentinian side, they gently cascade onto the flats. These cascading terraces are of varying altitudes and temperatures and are wonderful for growing a variety of grapes. The water from the mountains' melting snow is some of the tastiest, cleanest in the world. This wine has plenty of fruit. The soft peach and stone fruit chardonnay tones are wrapped in a medium-bodied wine that is a superb match with fried noodles.
Available for HK$145 at Rare & Fine Wines (tel: 2522 9797)
Yoshinogawa Daiginjo sake, Niigata, Japan