Sukiyaki

Sukiyaki

Sukiyaki simmers thin beef and vegetables in a sweet soy broth and finishes each bite in raw egg, so the dish is rich, sweet-savoury and deeply umami, wanting fruit to meet the sweetness and soft tannin so the umami stays friendly. A juicy, fruit-forward red leads. Avoid firm tannin and oak.

Pairs Perfectly

A Pinot Noir, Central Otago, New Zealand. Darker cherry-plum fruit and real weight stand up to the beef while the low tannin keeps the umami sweet, not metallic.

Pairs Well

An off-dry Riesling, Mosel Spätlese, Germany. Its acidity cuts the richness and the touch of sweetness mirrors the soy broth.

A Zweigelt, Austria. Light, juicy and peppery with soft tannin, an easy, inexpensive red for the sweet broth.

Avoid

Tannic, oaked reds, which clash with the sweet broth and turn hard against the umami.

Failing That

A Beaujolais, France.

If All Else Fails

Garnacha, Spain.

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