Food Pairings with Sake

One of the questions I heard the most in my career as a sommelier and Japanese restaurant worker is what is the best sake and food pairing.

I love this question because I’ve also wondered. After over 15 years of trial, error, and studying, I’ve come up with a general idea of what works and what doesn’t.

This article is the distilled version of sake and food pairings. I don’t get into nuances like sake temperature, sake cup shape/size, or types of pairings.

A general understanding of sake styles is useful but unnecessary if you just want a few ideas to explore.

Generic Sake and Food Pairings

These are rock-star pairings that work most of the time. You don’t need to get too granular about the type of sake or its temperature.

A quick glance at this list might surprise you. Yes, most Japanese dishes pair with some type of sake. But broadly speaking, Western food and sake are often a wonderful match with less risk of getting it wrong.

• Cheese
  • Perhaps the greatest sake and food pairing is with cheese.
  • Dial it in by pairing rich cheeses with rich sake and milder cheeses with light-flavored sake.
• Cream/dairy-based cuisine
  • Butter, cream, yogurt, and other dairy-based foods are awesome with most sake.
  • Lactic acidity is an important element of sake, which is why these food pairings work so well.
• Tomato
  • Tomatoes and sake is another seemingly odd combo that tastes great.
  • Tomatoes have a lot of umami, just like sake. It’s these shared flavor elements that make a great sake and food pairing.
• Pizza
  • Pizza typically combines elements of cheese and tomato. This makes for a wonderful combination with sake.
  • Experiment with this by doing pizza by the slice.
• BBQ
  • American or Japanese-style barbeque is made for sake. Earth or fruity sake will work, as will sweet or dry. The only sake to avoid are delicate types like tanrei.
• Shellfish
  • Shrimp, crab, and lobster are generally amazing with sake.
  • Pairing shellfish and sake works so well because of an element both share: succinic acid.
• Chocolate
  • Chocolate and sake is another winning pairing. Just make sure the sake you choose is sweeter than the chocolate.

Kimoto, Yamahai, and Other Savory Sake Food Pairings

Kimoto is an ancient sake style that is rich, fresh, and often savory. Yamahai sake is somewhat similar in flavor, though it’s made somewhat differently.

Both of these styles are fantastic sake to pair with food. Their elevated acidity and umami match with so many dishes.

Many non-kimoto and yamahai also fall into this savory sake category. Most of them are junmai grade with a few honjozo and tokubetsu thrown into the mix.

• Kimoto and yamahai are excellent pairings with butter, cream, and cheese-based cuisine 
• Slightly sweet styles are especially good with cheese in general
• Rich, meaty sake and steak
  • Kenbishi Junmai and wagyu beef
• Milk chocolate
• Mature cheese
• Ruffles cheddar potato chips 
  • I got this surprising sake pairing recommendation from the world-famous @sakebeauty.
• Pizza
• Pork belly
• Kimoto and yamahai with oily food 
  • Examples include tempura, tonkatsu, and fried chicken.
  • This sake and food pairing has a palate-cleansing effect.
• Warm kimoto and yamahai are very good with pungent foods
• Miso-marinated black cod 
  • And sweet miso marinated black cod “gindara no saikyo-yaki”
  • Please try this at least once in your life!
• Fatty bluefin tuna sushi and sashimi: toro, otoro, chotoro
• Watari Bune 55 and chawanmushi 
  • Thank me later
  • This specific sake from Ibaraki is a wonderful pairing with so many types of food.
• Briny sake and tempura
  • This sake and food pairing takes a bit of sake knowledge to pull off.
  • Many sake brands from Ishikawa prefecture have a briny flavor. Brands like Otokoyama Tokubetsu Junmai and Tensei are also briny.
• Yakitori
• Hot pots, nabe 
  • Tanyu nabe “soy milk hot pot”
    • Good with lactic-flavored sake served warm
• Minty, herbal, dry, somewhat boozy sake with hikarimono
  • Hikarimono includes smelt, aji, and shad.
• Roasted chicken with fresh vegetables 
• Slightly sweet, funky junmai and grilled elote
• Fish tacos with vinegar
• Fish and chips with malt vinegar
• Oaxaca-style mole
• Ankimo: monkfish liver
  • Ankimo is especially good with omachi rice-based sake.
  • Tokubetsu junmai or savory junmai ginjo with ankimo also pairs well.
• Burrata with tomato and balsamic 
• Bacon cheeseburger 
• Miso ramen
• Roasted or grilled duck

Daiginjo, Ginjo, and Other Fruity Sake Food Pairings

Fruity sake is often an excellent food pairing with sushi. But is can also work with a variety of Western dishes.

• Daiginjo, ginjo and nigiri sushi
• Junmai daiginjo and sashimi 
• Semi-sweet ginjo-shu and spicy Thai food 
  • Sweet drinks and spicy food often pair well. Semi-sweet sake and spicy Thai food is on another level, though.
• Caviar, batarga, ikura, tarako, mentaiko
  • Fish roe and delicate, fruity sake are a winning combination.
• Fresh goat cheese and oily, salty sheep cheese with junmai ginjo
• Fruit, especially melon, banana 
• Kanbara Junmai Ginjo and dried salmon
  • This specific pairing is one of my all-time favorites. Niigata prefecture is famous for its sake. But it’s also home to runs of salmon.
  • This pairing can be lumped into the sommelier category of “what grows with it, goes with it.”
• Dry sake with shiromi
  • Shiromi, or “white fish,” includes things like madai, suzuki, and hirame.
  • Fruity, dry sake should be your first choice with shiromi sushi or sashimi.
• Ginjo or daiginjo with a simple roast chicken
• Salads, especially with fruit and seafood 
• Daiginjo and tofu
  • This sake and food pairing includes agedashi tofu.
• Raw oysters 
• Fruity, slightly sweet ginjo and Japanese curry
  • Dewazakura Oka if you want a popular brand to try this pairing out.

Honjozo, Tanrei, and Other Mellow Sake and Food Pairings

For mild-flavored dishes, light-flavored sake often make great drink pairings. These styles of sake can also be effective as palate cleansers for slightly oily foods.

• Raw oyster
• Miyasaka Yawaraka and raw oysters with momiji and scallion
  • Oysters with momiji and scallion are a core dish at Sushi Kappo Tamura, where I was the beverage director for several years.
  • We tried so many sake with this dish to find the perfect pairing.
  • Miyasaka Yawaraka and oysters are so good together, they deserve their own category.
• Okarakuchi sake (extra dry) and tempura 
• Tateyama Tokubetsu Honjozo, a creamy, clean, mildly fruity sake and buttery, salty, seasoned popcorn
• Pork tonkatsu
• Toro sashimi

Genshu: Rich, Undiluted Sake Food Pairings

Genshu is often boozy, powerful, and slightly sweet. It’s sake you can enjoy on the rocks. And if you want to pair food with genshu, you want to match it with rich food.

• Cheeseburger 
• Pizza
• BBQ
• Teriyaki

Nigori: Pairing Cloudy Sake with Food

Cloudy sake, or nigori, is a popular style that doesn’t always pair well with food. But when matched with the appropriate dish, nigori sake and food can be magical.

• Sweeter nigori and mochi ice cream
  • One of my all-time favorite pairings.
  • Generic mochi-wrapped ice cream like from Trader Joe’s is ideal.
• Sweeter nigori and chocolate 
• Coconut 
• Spicy East Asian cuisine.
• Gorgonzola dolce
• DO NOT pair with fresh cheese 

Namazake: Unpasteurized Sake and Food

Most sake are pasteurized twice, unlike namazake. This fresh, bold, and bitter style is too intense for many dishes. But conversely, sometimes it’s the only pairing that works.

• Mustard greens 
  • Almost nothing pairs well with bitter mustard greens except namazake.
  • Mustard greens with sesame and raw albacore
• Tako
• Spicy lamb or chicken curry with naan and junmai ginjo nama
• Pickles
• Salads

Sparkling Sake Food Pairings

Sparkling sake is often sweet and light. Most are somewhat similar to Moscato d’Asti, and in my opinion, are best as an aperitif or after-meal tipple. However, there are food pairings with sparkling sake that crush.

• Fukucho Seaside and oysters 
• Semi-sweet sparkling sake and spicy Asian food 
• Semi-sweet styles with spicy maki (sushi rolls)
  • Spicy tuna and creamy spicy scallop rolls come to mind.
• Semi-sweet style with sorbet 
• Semi-sweet style with fruit 
• Dry sparkling sake with oysters, caviar, sashimi, and nigiri
• Buttery, salty popcorn
• Light, semi-sweet sparkling with tempura 
• Light, semi-sweet sparkling and cheese 
• Light, semi-sweet sparkling and yuzu pannacotta 

Koshu: Pairing Aged Sake and Food

Koshu is a rare category of sake that has been intentionally aged.

• Hard aged cheese
• Blue cheese 
• Cacio e Pepe “cheese and pepper” pasta
• Chocolate fondue
• Foie gras 
• Pork belly
• Unagi no kabayaki
• Buri no teriyaki
• Grilled free-range chicken 
  • Especially with a dark jukusei koshu

Kijoshu Sake Food Pairings

Kijoshu is a unique style of sake that is rich and sweet. If you are looking for a sake to elevate your dessert experience to another level, find a bottle of kijoshu.

• Kijoshu and ice cream
• Kijoshu and rich/funky cheese 
• Foie gras 
  • Especially aged kijoshu
• Eel kabayaki
• chocolate

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