I bought some Korean beef patties from the street stall and some meat mandu and kimchi mandu (고기만두 and 김치만두). Cheap and fast. Cost me 9,000 in total. Who needs to cook at these prices?
This wine was Trincadeira 75%, Cabernet Sauvignon 15%, and e Alincante Bouuschet 10%. So, looking at the varietal mix a rustic Portuguese table wine, but at 46,000won a bottle in Korea: it should perform. The wine was Adega Coop. De Borba Adegaborba.pt Alentejo Reserva 2004.
On opening it was reticent, tannic and herbaceous, but it opened up after one hour. I decanted half the bottle and drank half straight from the bottle. The wine from the bottle was much better. Expressing more of the fruit, rustic tannins and spice of the wine. There was plenty of compote and a lot of cinnamon. Some vanilla had been pushed through the wine via oak aging. (The label said 12 months in new french and American oak.) This was a wine made to be new world. 2004 vintage, drink now or let waste.
The kimchi mandu (김치만두) was powerful. (See photo above.) The chili killed all sensory perception for ten minutes. The meat mandu (고기만두) was better. At least I could eat more than one. Light and not overly oily. It was nice but didn’t work with the red portugese wine. Too much oil and steamed pastry. Probably better with a full bodied Riesling.
The beef pattie was a surprize. There were Tteok (떡) inside! Korean rice cake in traditional street food tube form. Wholesome and hearty food for only 2,000 a pattie.
The Portuguese wine worked well with this beef pattie. The fruitiness and acidity of the wine complementing the chewy tteok and meat texture. The simple food and simple wine working together. I will be going back for more heart warming meat from my local street stall.
