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Got Wine? John Fischer Almost all Asian cuisines use garlic but are varied, presenting unique challenges to poor saps trying to match a wine with Moo Goo Goo Goo (Chinese baby food). Cambodian and Vietnamese food have a touch of French influence, and so can be more subtle than others - - not much of a problem matching here, just follow the basic guidelines. Cantonese is also pretty calm, again use the basics. Thai and Burmese have curries and other different spice blends. Try to match the exotic flavors in the food with wines like Gewürztraminer, Viognier, or not-too-dry Chenin Blanc. Fight funk with funk! Szechuan? Hunan? These hot cuisines still are beer magnets (especially Tsingtao, or other lighter beers), but you can do pretty well if you avoid red wine, and consider that many of the flavors in these cuisines come from spices, prepared sauces (like Hoisin), and soy sauce. These are many complex flavors, none of which are found in traditional grape-growing areas. What am I saying? Wine does not go geographically with Asian food. It can, however adapt to it if we use our wine noggins. Drink in more wisdom with John's feature article.

With the plethora of garlic-themed cookbooks, festivals and restaurants available for today's garlic-crazed Americans, it's paradoxical that most haven't traced the ubiquitous bulb in Chinese cuisine. Chicago chef Daniel Kelch, the owner of the two Pan Asian LuLu's restaurants located in the Chicago area (Evanston and Hyde Park), as well as the American/Italian bistro Tanglewood in the Chicago suburb Winnetka, finds this especially funny -- especially since Asian cuisines tend to contain more garlic than Western cooking.

Comparing a popular pasta choice at his bistro and a Chinese dish at his Pan Asian restaurants, he proves his point. "At Tanglewood, a typical pasta dish is the penne with garlic, chicken broth, argula and basil chicken sausage. One serving contains about 1/4 of a teaspoon of garlic. Garlic is not really a dominant ingredient," Kelch explains. "At LuLu's we add a Hoisin-like sauce to one of our Chinese dishes called Spicy Barbecue. This has at least a full teaspoon. We definitely use a lot more garlic in the LuLu's restaurant than Tanglewood."

We had no idea.

Maybe it's about time America's garlic fanatics give Chinese cooking heed and try the lily in its more mysterious state -- hidden among the exotic flavorings of the East. Fong-Torres advises that novices to Chinese cooking begin exploring garlic's underlying role with this easy recipe: "Sizzle garlic with vegetable oil, then stir-fry with julienned ginger, lean chicken breasts, mushrooms and seasonal Chinese greens," she says. Or, for those who prefer table service to the do-it-yourself method, she has another bit of advice: "Garlic lovers should give Chinese food a try and ask for a lot of garlic in the wok!"

Garlic Chicken with Broccoli 1 whole chicken breast, skinned, boned, cut to bite-sized pieces. Marinade with: 2 tablespoons soy sauce 1 teaspoon of fresh minced ginger dash of white pepper 1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil 2 tablespoons shao xing (Chinese rice wine) or dry sherry Cook with: 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 medium size yellow onion, sliced into thin pieces 8 cloves minced fresh garlic (for cooking chicken) 3-4 cloves minced fresh garlic (for cooking broccoli) 1 cup chicken broth 1 lb. broccoli, keep small florets whole, cut larger florets into halves. Trim tough part of stem and discard. Cut trimmed stems diagonally into 1" pieces 2 teaspoons soy sauce 2 teaspoon cornstarch, mixed with 1 tablespoon sesame oil Fresh Chinese parsley, for garnish To cook: Heat wok with 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, swirling to coat sides. Stir-fry the onion and garlic until onion becomes translucent. Add chicken and slices of broccoli stems. Stir-fry over high heat for 2-3 minutes, until chicken browns. Add 1/2 cup of chicken broth, bring to a boil and stir in the cornstarch mixture, to form a gravy. Drizzle with a small amount sesame oil. Remove from wok and keep warm. In a clean wok, add remaining tablespoon of oil, swirling to coat sides. Add minced garlic, broccoli and cook quickly over high heat. Add remaining 1/2 cup of chicken broth, soy sauce, and cook for 2-3 minutes until broccoli turns bright green and most of the broth evaporates. Place garlic chicken on center of serving platter. Arrange broccoli florets around decoratively. Top with parsley garnish. From Shirley Fong-Torres' cookbook, In the Chinese Kitchen. [back]