chinese newyear2022 pairing

Chinese New Year is just a few days to go, it is about time to have reunion dinner with family and friends. With a big feast, how can you miss a nice drink? Saketora team has had our reunion dinner in advance and especially picked up two delicious and good-value sakes for food pairing. Let’s check the following report to see how well they can go with Cantonese food!

Cuisines for Reunion Dinner
  • saketora - Red braised pork belly



  • saketora - Shrimp in Ketchup sauce

  • saketora - Abalone in Oyster sauce

Sake pairing tips
Red braised pork belly
Saketora - Red braised pork belly

Red braising sauce is thick and sweet, the taste of light sakes are easily covered by the sauce. Therefore, it is better to find some sakes with strong taste for this cuisine. The dry one like Imayo-tsukasa super dry, or slighty aged sakes like Maboroshinotaki Aged 3 years would be good choices. For those who prefer Daiginjo class, it would be more suitable to find the sakes in stronger taste as Premium Flower Junmai Daiginjo or the sweetness of sake would be covered by the food.
In addition, as the fat in pork is easy to solidify and produce a greasy feeling, so when you try to pairing with sake, served hot/warm would help to reduce the greasy feeling and therefore you can enjoy more food!

Saketora's Sake pairing suggestions
  • saketora - Maboroshinotaki Junmaiginjo Aged 3 Years

    saketora - Maboroshinotaki Junmaiginjo Aged 3 Years

    Maboroshinotaki Junmaiginjo Aged 3 Years

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  • saketora - Imayo-tsukasa Black Junmai Ultra Dry

    saketora - Imayo-tsukasa Black Junmai Ultra Dry

    Imayo-tsukasa Black Junmai Ultra Dry

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  • saketora - PREMIUM FLOWER Junmai Daiginjo

    saketora - PREMIUM FLOWER Junmai Daiginjo

    PREMIUM FLOWER Junmai Daiginjo

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Shrimp in Ketchup sauce
Saketora - Shrimp in Ketchup sauce

Although many sake are suitable for pairing with shrimp with umami, in addition to the umami taste of shrimp, the most important thing in this dish is the sweet and sour ketchup sauce. Therefore, when pairing with sake, it is important to achieve a balance between sweet and sour.
Slighted aged sake or full-bodied sake can be a good choice for sake pairing with the ketchup sauce. Jokigen Yamahai Ginjo is brewed by Yamahai method, refreshing with pleasant lactic acid is the perfect match for the sweet and sour ketchup. Hoshitori BLACK STAR is a junmai daiginjo with remarkable sour and sweet taste, so that it would not be covered by the ketchup sauce. As for Tokyo Kurabito, it is brewed by using the Kimoto method which shows the flavors of milk, so it especially pairs well with oily meat or savory food.

Saketora's Sake pairing suggestions



Abalone in Oyster sauce
Saketora - Abalone in Oyster sauce

Dishes in oyster sauce are mainly focusing on its umami, and therefore, how to improve the umami is one of the key points when choosing sake. Senpuku Junmai Daiginjo Kura is sweet and perfectly balanced by the pleasant acidity, which can perfectly show the umami of the food. Toko Dry Junmai Daiginjo is crisp and dry, makes it a fine sake pairing well with a good variety of food and making you always crave for more. Brewed using black rice, Rokkasen Rosé is mildly acidic with the flavors of rice and hints of plum, which perfectly balance the saltiness and sweetness in the dish, creating an excellent harmony on the palette.

Saketora's Sake pairing suggestions