Food pairing
Beer with laksa
Coconut noodle soup with chilli and shrimp paste — rich, hot and deeply savoury.
Coconut noodle soup with chilli and shrimp paste — rich, hot and deeply savoury all at once.
The coconut fat cushions the heat, which widens the answer, but sweetness still helps and bitterness still hurts. A wheat beer handles both the richness and the chilli.
Laksa narrows the field sharply, and one answer stands clear of the rest. Most beer falls down on at least one thing this dish demands. The attribute doing most of the work is chilli heat.
What to drink
Weissbier — excellent pairing
Coconut, chilli and shrimp paste at once. Wheat beer's sweetness and low bitterness relieve the heat while its body stands up to the richness.
Caution: Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
Weizenbock — outstanding
Peppery and clove-like notes from the yeast pick up the warm spicing in the dish — the same aromatic family on both sides.
Sweet stout — outstanding
Gentle sweetness and modest strength take the edge off the chilli rather than sharpening it.
Caution: A richer dish than this beer can clear from the palate.
Tropical stout — outstanding
Deep malt character matches the savoury weight of the dish instead of sitting apart from it.
Czech dark lager — outstanding
Deep malt character matches the savoury weight of the dish instead of sitting apart from it.
Caution: Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
Bock — strong
Deep malt character matches the savoury weight of the dish instead of sitting apart from it.
Caution: A richer dish than this beer can clear from the palate.
Oud Bruin — strong
Beer and dish carry similar weight, so neither flattens the other.
Caution: Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
Old ale — strong
Deep malt character matches the savoury weight of the dish instead of sitting apart from it.
What not to drink
- Alcohol-free pale lager — Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.
- Australian sparkling ale — A light beer against a heavy plate tends to disappear.
- Gose — Expect the beer to refresh rather than to stand up to the food.