Khao Man Gai

Poached chicken served over rice cooked in chicken stock with garlic and ginger, accompanied by a chilli-ginger-soy dipping sauce and a small bowl of clear chicken broth. The Thai version of the regional Hainanese-Singaporean dish, gentler than pad Thai or tom yum, with the chicken and rice as the centre and the dipping sauce providing the punch. Subtle and balanced.

Pairs Perfectly

Pinot Noir from Marlborough, New Zealand. The Asian cuisine New World answer at its gentlest deployment — Marlborough's lighter red-fruit and high acid honour the poached chicken without overwhelming, the supple structure handles the rice and the dipping sauce together, and the moderate alcohol stays clear of the chilli when the sauce is dialled up. A Pinot Noir from Hemel-en-Aarde, Walker Bay, South Africa offers the same cool-climate New World logic with Cape mineral character at a similar price point.

Pairs Well

Riesling sec from Alsace, France. Dry Alsace Riesling brings high-acid mineral structure and gentle aromatic lift that meets the ginger-and-garlic rice and the chicken cleanly.

Off-dry Riesling Kabinett from the Mosel, Germany. Where the dipping sauce is dialled up to assertive chilli intensity, Kabinett's residual sweetness handles the heat where the dry wines would feel exposed.

Worth Seeking Out

Pinot Noir from the Yarra Valley, Victoria, Australia. The Burgundian-style Australian Pinot meets gentle Asian cooking with the kind of analytical fidelity that Burgundy delivers at four times the price.

Avoid

Oaked wines — react badly with the dipping sauce; tannic reds — clash with the gentle dish; wines above 13% alcohol — overwhelm the subtle poached chicken; sweet wines — fight the savoury rice.

Failing That

A Pinot Blanc, Alsace.

If All Else Fails

Pinot Grigio, Alto Adige.

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