Filipino Foods with Wines: Breaking the odds with perfect recipes

Celebrity Chef Sharwin Tee came up with an ingenuine idea to create signature culinary delights in the lately held Casillero del Diablo event. It was at Pan-Pacific Hotel, Manila. He cooked several Filipino dishes with the best-known Chilean wines. Per the top chef, pairing the wines with the dishes enhanced not only the flavor of the food but also the flavor of the wine. On his creation of the unique recipes Sharwin commented, matching the same wine to cook a dish and to drinking with, reinforces the flavor. He said, drinking the wine reminds of the particular dish mixed with it.

General manager of Fly Ace Corporation, Philippines’ top food and beverage company, Ramon Daez said the countries dishes are not paired with wines, but the new venture is a try to make “Filipinos understand that wine can be paired with anything you want.” It was, in fact, the idea of the company to create some local recipes with wine. Thus, chef Sharwin came up with the rare delights. In the process, Chilean wines were selected because they exhibit a different character and are lighter. Per Daez, Chilean wines mix perfectly with Filipino foods because, the food is heavy with strong and distinct flavors, while Chilean wines are light and “have a little bit more body.”

The signature dishes presented were Pulled Pork Adobo Nachos with Casillero del Diablo Merlot, the Spicy Mussel and Clam Binakol was with Casillero del Diablo Chardonnay. The Grilled Chicken with Guava Glaze dish, and the heaviest one, Arroz a la Cubana ‘Omu-style’. The latter one was paired with Cabernet Sauvignon. The wine is the first product of the Casillero del Diablo and it comes from the foot hills of Andes. The wine is the most popular in the world.