For bottling our 2106 Müller-Thurgau, we once again pushed the pairing envelope with strong and spicy flavors. The Vietnamese sandwiches were accompanied by a few summery banchan (Korean side dishes). Yet again Müller-Thurgau showed well with Asian foods.
3 lightly crusty baguette, cut in 4 to to 9", sliced open
5 lb. skinless boneless chicken thigh
1.5 C. Bulgogi (Korean BBQ) sauce
2 C. carrot, cut to 2" matchsticks
2 C. daikon, cut to 2" matchsticks
2 t. Perennial Vintners Verjus
2 t. honey
2 C Persian or English cucumber, cut to 2" matchsticks
1 large red onion, quartered and sliced very thin
1 C. cilantro leaves
1 C. sliced very thin jalapeno
1 C. mayonaise
3 T. Gochujang (Korean chili paste)
8 oz. jar fried garlic
Marinate chicken thighs overnight in BBQ sauce.
Grill over medium-low heat until lightly charred and cooked through.
Let cool, slice, cover and refrigerate.
Soak carrots and daikon in well salted water in separate bowls. Drain, rinse thoroughly and pat dry.
Combine verjus and honey. Add half to each carrot and daikon bowls. Toss, cover and refrigerate.
Whisk mayonaise and Gochujang together in a bowl. Refrigerate.
Presentation: plate of rolls, bowls of chicken, carrot, daikon, cucumber, onion, cilantro, jalapeno, spicy mayo and fried garlic.
Let guests grab a roll, slather on the spicy mayo, and add meat and toppings of choice.
3 pound peeled russet potatoes, cut into ½ inch thick pieces
6 hard-boiled eggs, shelled
2 T. salt
1 t. ground white pepper
3 T. sugar
1 cup mayonnaise
1 Fuji apple, julienned 2" and soaked in lemon water.
4 green onion, sliced thin
Add the potatoes to a large pot of well salted water.
Bring just to boil, and reduce to heat a strong simmer.
Cook for 10 minutes or until al dente.
Drain and cover with cold water a couple times until cool.
Use an egg slicer in 2 directions on the hard boiled eggs.
Coarsely mash together potatoes, eggs, salt, pepper and mayo.
Rinse julienned apple.
Fold apple and green onion into salad.
Cover and refrigerate.
8 oz. kombu
3 cloves garlic, pressed
3 green onions, slice thin
3 T. soy sauce
1 T. honey
2 T. toasted sesame oil
2 T. toasted white sesame seeds
Use kitchen scissors to cut kombu into hand sized pieces.
Ads kombu to a large pot of lightly salted simmering water.
Cook for 10 minutes.
Drain and rinse with cold water. (Reserve stock for kombu dashi!)
Cut the cooked kombu into thin strips 3" long.
Toss with the remaining ingredients.
Cover and refrigerate 2 hours to overnight.
2 pounds Persian cucumbers (9 or 10 cucumbers)
salt
1 C. garlic chives, chopped into ½ inch pieces
4 garlic cloves, pressed
1 medium carrot, cut into thin matchsticks (about 1 cup)
1 C. sweet onion, quartered and sliced thinly
½ C. Gochucharu (Korean hot pepper flakes)
3 T. fish sauce
1 T. sugar
1/4 cup water
1 T. toasted black sesame seeds
Cut 1/2" of top and bottom of cucumbers. Cut lengthwise in 4 at right angles, leaving the bottom 3/4" connected.
Sprinkle ~1/2 t. salt inside and out of each cucumber.
Let sit 10 minutes. Gently turn each cucumber over and around. 10 minutes and turn again.
Rinse cucumbers gently but thoroughly and drain well.
Combine remaining ingredients.
Stuff each cumber with some paste. Reserve a little of the paste to coat the outside.
Use rubber/vinyl gloves if your hands are sensitive.
Cover and refrigerate. Turn a couple of times.
Use within a few hours.