Little is wasted in the cuisines of the French, Chinese, Greeks and Italians. The French have been masters at dressing up animal parts that may be hard to identify unless you have a degree in anatomy, transforming them into beautiful pates and terrines. In Chinese cuisine, offal is embraced even more openly, with organ meats served as organ meats, without too much beautification. For a dish of poached pork liver and kidneys in supreme sauce, only the freshest specimens should be used. Although the cooking method is simple, the preparation is not, with the kidneys being especially tricky: they need to be cored and trimmed of the parts that filtered the body's impurities, then soaked to remove any residual smell. Don't overcook either ingredient, especially the liver, which, if cooked correctly, should be tender and rich. Soy sauce flavoured with Chinese five spice will extend the liver and kidney's richness and highlight their supple textures. Any wine served with this dish should have plenty of flavour, from being exposed to the bright sun. Rich whites work, but they can't be too pale or vivid. A lively sauvignon blanc would not contrast well with the richness of the offal; light reds and roses are the best match.
Cloudy Bay Pinot Noir 2008, Marlborough, New Zealand
Marlborough is not only famous for sauvignon blanc, its pinot noirs are also crowd pleasing. They're pretty and pure-fruit wines, and in the hands of the Cloudy Bay team, the local terroir is perfectly preserved. The feminine fruitiness is a great platform for pork liver and kidneys in spiced soy sauce. The fragrant red fruit notes take the offal and flavour-extending soy in a new direction.
Available for HK$295 at Rare & Fine Wines (tel: 2522 9797)
Pisa Range Pinot Noir 2007, Cromwell, Central Otago, New Zealand
The beautiful Central Otago region is home to bungee-jumping, white-water rafting and extreme skiing. It's uncannily like Scotland - Queenstown, in Central Otago, has street names and locations resembling those of Edinburgh. If you were to fold the wine world in half, you'd see that Central Otago's vineyards are on the same latitude as France's southern Rhone, one of the most interesting wine terroirs in the world. Pisa Range wines are delicious and unassuming, reflecting the local terroir. It's a good match with poached liver and kidneys (small intestines, as well) with spicy soy sauce. The wine has loads of dark fruit that blankets the offal with spiced oak and forms a seamless link for the dish's richness to shine.