Staying in tonight? Match these wallet-friendly winners.
English teachers, ready your gold stars: over the past few years, we have all seriously levelled-up our vocab. Thanks to Margot Robbie, we’re talking about all-pink ‘Barbiecore’ styling. The culinary world gave us the ‘croffle’ and ‘butter board’. And, in April this year, the word-wielders at Macquarie Dictionary heard our cries and added ‘cozzie livs’ – that is, cost of living – to their monthly blog.
All of which is to say: when a word makes it into our regular rotation (and the dictionary), it’s not for nothing. The cost of living has ballooned and we’re all contending with it in our own way. However you slice it, though, eating and drinking well is still firmly on the table.
For us, it means fewer nights out at restaurants in favour of good takeaway or the homemade equivalent, ‘fakeaway’ (that’s from Macquarie’s July 2020 blog, btw) and a wallet-friendly bottle of something nice to match. It’s easy, cost-effective and every bit as enjoyable as a meal at that hyped-up local restaurant, as you can see with the six following ideas.
Middle Eastern food is so, so good. It’s fresh, with plenty of salads, grains and crispy veg. It’s built for sharing, which makes it an ideal meal with friends and family. And it’s often vegetarian and vegan-friendly, with aromatic ingredients like parsley, garlic, tahini and lemon doing all the heavy lifting.
For nights in, it’s hard to beat falafels with hummus. The crispy-fried, herb-laden chickpea patties and creamy hummus travel well and either slot into a broader spread or, jammed into a pita with a crunchy tabbouleh and a little tahini, make a self-contained meal that’s hard to top.
Pairing-wise, we like to go for a white wine that’s got a nice, bright acidity as well as some fruity, herbal and/or spicy flavours – something like viognier. It’s got enough zip to balance the creamy hummus, some fun stone fruit flavours that play off the herbaceous falafel, and enough texture that it won’t get lost among the whirlwind of flavours.
Sparkling wine has a fancy rep. Trays of flutes come out with dainty canapes and restaurants tout pairings with obscenely-priced bumps of Oscietra caviar. But for us, sparkling wine goes best with humble fried treats like battered fish and thick-cut chips.
The reason is that sparkling wine has bright acidity and refreshing flavours like green apple or nectarine that balance the fatty, salty food without overwhelming the delicate fish. It’s the same reason you have a salad dressed in vinaigrette or a crunchy pickle – it keeps you coming back for more.
Oh, and in case you’re wondering, a sparkling wine will also complement your battered sav or fried dim sim, too. Personally, though, we’re here for the minimum chips and fried whiting.
A slice of good pizza and an Italian red wine isn’t rocket science but, then, good pairings really don’t have to be. There’s some kind of magic that happens when you combine a pepperoni pizza – with its sweet, acidic tomato sauce base, spicy, umami-heavy pepperoni, and creamy mozzarella – with a beautiful glass of nebbiolo.
Neb tends to have rich, red-fruit flavours like cherry and raspberry, sometimes a little cola (all-you-can-eat pizza party vibes, right?), classic tar-and-roses aromas and sturdy tannins to cut through all the rich flavours of the pizza.
And, when it comes to the pizza, pepperoni is just the topping – style-wise, it’s up to you. There’s the classic fold-it-in-half thin crust of New York-style pies; the chewy, bready doughs of the square-cut grandma pizza; and – underappreciated, these days – the no-frills, suburban pizza-shop style of Aussie childhoods everywhere.
If you’ve ever been to Mexico, you’ll recall (with glossy eyes) how good it feels to wield a fresh taco in one hand and a cold cerveza in the other. We’re all about replicating the experience back home, but with a crafty twist.
The great thing about this pairing is it leaves plenty up to your imagination. If you prefer fall-apart-tender, barbacoa-style beef with nothing more than onion and a squeeze of lime, go for it. If your local does those homestyle hard shell tacos that send nostalgia signals pinging, perfect. Follow your beef taco dreams.
However you prefer it, trade the light Mexican lager for a session IPA. It’s similarly light-bodied and roughly the same alcohol content, but it dials up those tropical hop notes. Beef tacos are heavy on spices like cumin and paprika, and hops are a great foil. Think of it like tropical mango salsa – a great way to add some top notes to an already perfect dish.
Unlike some of the other popular noodle soups we love (think ramen or laksa), pho is a more delicate style. You’re looking at flat rice noodles, fresh herbs and beef (phở bò) or chicken (phở gà) in a steamy bowl of clear beef bone broth flavoured with aromatics like star anise, clove and fennel seed. It means that, pairing-wise, we’re not going for anything too heavy.
You’d get away with a Hanoi Beer, of course, but we recommend trying pho with a light, slightly-sweet sake – junmai is a good place to start. Like the pho broth, this style of sake is flavoursome but balanced, often with a hint of sweetness to slightly temper the saltiness of the pho and enough of the sake’s yeasty fragrance to poke through all those aromatics.
We won’t wade into the origins of chicken tikka masala (here’s a good account if you’re interested), but it is a classic and regular feature of our takeaway curry spreads. Tikka masala combines pungent spices and aromatics (garlic, ginger, coriander seed and garam masala among others), marinated chicken and a tomato and cream sauce. It’s aromatic, a little sweet and pretty rich. A perfect curry, in other words.
For pairings, curry shops are always well-stocked with beers (which is great – we love Kingfisher), but we reckon it’s apple cider’s time. Here, cider brings a touch of sweetness, fruity apple flavours and a welcome acidity. These characteristics play off the salty, rich and creamy curry, and bring it all into harmony – in much the same way that subcontinental cuisines use pickles.
