As a korean, soju. Has nothing to do because we have been drinking it forever. Sparkling wines, no. If not soju, I will do full bodied reds and certain italian wines works as well. Kalbi should not be so sweet and sweet is not the first thing that comes to mind when eating it.
I donât really see this as a hard pairing if youâre just talking about the marinated beef. However, if youâre talking the 12-17 side-dishes that they usually bring with the beef in Korea, then Iâd stick to Auslese or Spatlese Riesling from the Mosel or maybe a Vietti Moscatto dâAsti. For me this would be more about trying to pair with the crazy number of side dishes including the Kimchi. However, for me personally Iâd probably want a magnum of Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen Oude Geuze.
I sort of get that point, but we donât ever apply that logic to European cuisine.
If youâre having herbed lamb roast and pick Bordeaux, you donât worry whether the soup, salad, sweet potato puree, the steamed asparagus or the balsamic Brussels sprouts do or donât go with the wine. You just match the wine with the lamb and it all works fine.
Same thing here. If you want wines to work, they do.
Well, some of âweâ have considerably different experiences here, and do match the wine with entire set of dishes that are served with a course. So the soup and salad probably donât get counted, but whatever hits the table with the lamb is counted. And the grilled asparagus in yuzu vinaigrette certainly doesnât work fine with a nice mature cabernet; you will lose all the nuance in the wine.
Same thing here. If you want wines to work, they do.
In my quest to see what worked with Prum auslese GK, I paired a 2007 with Kalbi. On paper it should have worked, the fat cut by the acidity, the sweetness playing off each other. Was perfectly ok, but deadened the complexity of the wine.
I then tried an ice cold Muscat. Same thing, except that Muscat was not wasted here, and the lower acidity seemed to fight less with the fat.
âMost diners, either at Korean restaurants or at home â bulgogi is easily ordered as take-out or made in your own kitchen â wash down that first bite with often lackluster lagers such as Hite or OB. Thereâs soju, which in terms of food-pairing is like throwing gasoline on a brazier. Wine is almost certainly a better alternative.â
Again, this is bulgogi, which has some similarity but is a tougher wine match than Kalbi due to greater sweetness.
When I lived in Hawaii we ate Kalbi often. Lighter Zinfandel or Petit Sirah worked the best from wines within the price range deemed appropriate at the time. I think some Mencia might also do the trick.