Food: 

• Coffin Bread (Guancai Ban)                                                      

Wine of my choice:

• Domaine Gérard Tremblay Chablis France 🇫🇷  2018

Time flies and next week is Halloween. It is a perfect opportunity to introduce this popular Taiwanese snack with a spooky name to all of you. The dish is Coffin Bread.

What a bizarre name, right? Coffin Bread is a popular snack originated from Tainan, located in the southern part of Taiwan. Tainan was once the capital city for over 200 years and known for its culture and gourmet food.

Coffin Bread was invented by Liu-Yi Hsu, a small restaurant owner who sold traditional Taiwanese dishes and snacks in Tainan back in the 1940s. 

One day, a regular, who was an archaeologist, came in and asked Mr. Hsu to make a snack that combines western and Chinese cooking.  Mr. Hsu came up with this idea of using puff pastry filled with chicken livers and cream sauce and called this dish, “Chicken Liver Bread.” The archaeologist joked and said to Liu-Yi Hsu,  “This dish looks like the stone coffins we are digging right now.”  Mr. Hsu laughed and said, “Well, I should call this dish Coffin Bread then”. That’s how the Coffin Bread was created and got its unique name.

The way to make the dish has been modified over the years.  The puff pastry has been replaced by toast and the filling is now made with chicken or seafood, and vegetables. Due to its rectangular shape, unusual flavors, and sensational name, Coffin Bread started to gain popularity in the area and has become a local specialty to Tainan since then.

I have invited my very good friend Gabi, an experienced motion graphic designer based in New York City, to join me for this special food and wine pairing project. Gabi was born and raised in Tainan. She loves to cook and she has her own philosophy when it comes to food. I couldn’t find a better candidate to make the dish for us. The dish shown here is Gabi’s interpretation of Coffin Bread.

So… What kind of wine goes well with the Coffin Bread? The flavors of the filling in the Coffin Bread are very similar to Clam Chowder and Chicken Pot Pie.  Therefore, white wines with neutral aromas and flavors, medium body, and bright acidity are ideal. Chardonnay and Muscadet Sur Lie are classic choices for this pairing.

If you are willing to try something different, I would recommend Grüner Veltliner, dry Riesling or sparkling wine made with traditional method showing aromas and flavors of toasted nuts and brioche notes. The elevated acidity and minerality in these wines are the key elements to make the pairing successful.  When it comes to food and wine pairing, try to leave your preconception behind,  go explore. 

I choose Chablis made with 100 % Chardonnay, produced by Domaine Gérard Tremblay to pair with Coffin Bread. First of all, let’s talk about Chablis for a moment.

Wine Region: Chablis

Chablis, a village appellation, lies in the most northern part of Burgundy, France. Its location is closer to the Champagne region than the rest of the Burgundy appellations in the south, therefore, it enjoys a semi-continental climate. The region is also known for the kimmeridgian clay sub-soil. Kimmeridgian soil is rich in marine fossils and people believes the soil has given Chablis its distinctive mineral and flinty characters. In addition, Chardonnay is the official and the only grape variety can be grown in Chablis. So, next time, when you hear people talking about Chablis, you will know the wine is made with 100 % Chardonnay. 

The Producer: Domaine Gérard Tremblay

Located in Chablis, Domaine Gérard Tremblay is a 3rd generation winemaking family managing the 37 hectare estate. Along with their children, Vincent and Eléonore, Gérard and his wife Helene’s aspiration is to produce wine that truly reflect the terroir of Chablis. 

This Chablis is beautifully made, showing delicate white blossoms, green apple, lemon with a hint of flinty and mineral notes. This wine is juicy and refreshing, with racy but balanced acidity. Pairing this wine with the Coffin Bread is just perfect. The minerality works wonderfully with the scallops and shrimps and the bright acidity just soothe out the creaminess of the filling. It is a classic pairing and I’m loving it.

Want to cook something for Halloween? Try making the Coffin Bread and pair it with Chablis.

Once again, I’d like to thank Gabi for joining me and show us how she makes the Coffin Bread, a special snack originated from her hometown. If you are interested in Gabi’s work, please visit her website: fangsbite.tv  

萬聖節餐酒搭配：棺材板 Ｘ 夏布利

餐點：

• 棺材板

餐酒：

• Domaine Gérard Tremblay Chablis France 🇫🇷  2018

轉眼間，下個禮拜就是萬聖節了。趁這個機會來介紹這道菜並且搭配葡萄酒是再適合也不過了。這道菜就是棺材板。

很奇怪的菜名，對不對？讓我們先來了解一下棺材板這道菜是如何發明的，為什麼叫棺材板？ 這道菜又是如何演變成今日的模樣？

棺材板是一道很有名的台南小吃。台南，位於台灣的南半部，過去曾有兩百年的時間是台灣的首都，並以其文化及美食著稱。棺材板是由在台南卡沙里巴市場裡賣傳統小吃的許六一先生在1940年代所發明的。

有一天，一個考古學家熟客走進餐廳，跟許先生說，他想吃一道中西合併的點心， 許先生靈機一動，便使用雞肝及奶油醬做成內餡填入西式酥皮中並稱這道菜為雞肝板。這位考古學家打趣地對許先生說：「這道菜的外形看起來像是我們正在挖掘的石板棺呢！」許先生一聽，笑著回答說：「那我就把這道菜叫棺材板好啦！」這道菜的名字就是這麼來的。

經過時代的變遷，這道菜的做法也改變了不少。西式酥皮早已被吐司所替代，而內餡則使用雞肉或海鮮與蔬菜做成。由于其四方的外形、特殊的口味，再加上聳動的菜名，棺材板便開始在地方上流傳開來，並且成為台南的特色小吃之一。

非常榮幸能邀請到我的好朋友 Gabi 來參與這個特別的餐酒搭配企劃，為我們示範如何做棺材板這道菜。Gabi 是土生土長的臺南人，她是一位資深的動態圖像設計師，目前在紐約工作。 她平時喜愛做菜，對吃，也很有自己的一套哲學，由她來為我們示範這道菜是再適合也不過了。（上圖即是 Gabi 為我們製作的棺材板）

什麼樣的葡萄酒適合搭配棺材板呢? 棺材板的內餡與西式的蛤蜊巧達濃湯及雞肉派非常的類似，因此，有著明亮的酸度，中等酒體及味道淡雅的白葡萄酒是理想的選擇。夏多內及慕絲卡黛算是搭配此類食物的經典選擇。

如果你願意嚐試不同種類的葡萄酒，綠維特利納、甘型麗斯玲或是使用傳統釀造法釀造出來的氣泡酒並帶有烤堅果及法國奶油麵包香氣，都非常合適搭配這道菜。這些葡萄酒所擁有的爽脆酸度及高礦物感是讓這個餐酒搭配成功的主要原因。談到用葡萄酒佐以餐點搭配時，希望您能放下自身對食物和酒的成見，以一個全新的角度及心態，放膽去探索吧!

我特地挑了這瓶來自法國夏布利產區 Domaine Gérard Tremblay 酒莊採用100% 夏多內製作而成白葡萄酒來搭配棺材板這道菜。

產區：夏布利（Chablis)

夏布利位於法國勃根地的最北邊，是一個村莊級的法定產區。由於夏布利離香檳產區非常的近，在氣候上與香檳區相似，是屬於大陸型氣候，相較於其他比較靠南邊的勃根地法定產區，氣候算是比較冷的。夏布利最有名的就是上侏羅紀石灰石層，這種的土壤富含許多海洋生物化石，很多人相信就是這種土壤為這區的葡萄增添其礦物質風味而成為夏布利的特色。白葡萄夏多內是法定且唯一能在夏布利產區種植的葡萄品種。下次，當你聽到別人在說夏布利酒時，你就知道是由100%的夏多內葡萄釀製而成的白葡萄酒了！

酒莊：Domaine Gérard Tremblay

Domaine Gérard Tremblay 酒莊是三代相傳的葡萄酒世家，在夏布利擁有34公頃的葡萄園。目前由 Gérard 與他的太太 Helene, 及他們的兩個孩子 Vincent 及 Eléonore Tremblay 一起共同經營。其經營理念是釀出最能表現出夏布利風土的葡萄酒。

這瓶夏布利飲來完美無瑕，無從挑剔。探頭一聞，白色的花香立即流瀉而出，青蘋果，檸檬的清香則是緩緩流淌，淵遠流長 ; 燧石及礦物感則是夏布利經典的商標，其存在感很難被忽視。清爽、多汁，還夾著令人為之一陣的酸爽，搭配棺材板一起飲用造就了一場完美的演出。強烈的礦物感與蝦、干貝融合至極。強勁的酸度則化解了白醬的濃郁，清爽了口感。

不曉得萬聖節要準備什麼菜來應景嗎？那就來做棺材板搭配夏布利吧！

再一次感謝 Gabi 的力挺，為我們製作這道台南的著名小吃：棺材板。如果你對 Gabi 的作品有興趣，歡迎到她的網站：fangsbites.tv 看看。