Oenologist and overall wine buff ED SOON picks the perfect vino to match your meal each month

Peranakan cuisine combines aromatic Malay spices with Chinese cooking. Singaporean and Malaccan curries have Indonesian influence, with coconut milk. Creamy chardonnays mirror tastes here. Buah keluak – black-nut chicken – is chocolate-y and rich; pair it with rustic Tannat, Carménère, Pinotage or Côtes de Bourg.

Penang Peranakan cuisine’s sour overtones suggest Thai influences. Pork is stir-fried with cincaluk – the condiment of fermented tiny prawns. If limes are squeezed over, try a wine like Vin de Savoie or Picpoul de Pinet; dry Riesling or Vinho Verde play similar role. Also, contrast itek tim or kiam chye ark th’ng (salted vegetable duck soup) with a Marzemino or white zinfandel. Portuguese Peranakans (Eurasians) spawned the Kristang ethnic group, whose signature dish is curry devil. The flavours are rich and fiery; chicken, pork or wild boar could feature, but you need to match the spicy hot curry with a sweet, icy-cold muscat.

Chitty (Indian Peranakan) food is assertive; let dishes take the lead with a generic red or white. There’s also Jawi Peranakan (Muslim Indian) and Yahudi Peranakan (Jewish), and rosés work here. The most common Peranakan food remains Chinese Malay – tangy, aromatic, spicy, herbal. Wines to match? Riesling or fruity merlot.