Wagyu in Spicy Mala Broth
~ 水煮牛肉 ／ Shui Zhu Niu Rou ~
2004 Toriivilla Imamura “Cuvée Yuka Blanc” ／ Katsunuma, Yamanashi — Japan
A hallmark of Sichuan cuisine: mala—heat from chili, tingle from Sichuan pepper.
Here, lightly blanched wagyu sirloin is layered over lettuce, then flooded with a sizzling broth scented with spices and fragrant oil.
The first bite brings sharp, rising heat, but as the wagyu’s sweetness and fat begin to bloom, the fire softens into umami, and warmth lingers like an echo across the tongue.
To meet this hidden depth beneath the spice, Cuvée Yuka Blanc from Toriivilla Imamura—intage 2004—steps forward:
a landmark expression of aged Koshu.
From the revered Toriibira vineyard, hand-selected fruit, cool fermentation, and patience were entrusted to time itself.
Two decades later, the wine opens amber-gold, with aromas of dried honey, orange peel, baked apple—and a whisper of Shaoxing-like maturity.
Rather than fight the mala, the wine awakens it.
The gentle sweetness born of age and the poised acidity draw out the sweetness hidden within the heat, rounding the edges of chili and numbing spice.
As wagyu fat melts into the broth, the wine’s mineral core rises—clean, steady—bringing balance where intensity gathers.
Here, the five tastes take turns:
umami from beef and broth, spice-driven heat, the wine’s soft sweetness and bright acidity, and a faint herbal bitterness from hua jiao.
They shift roles rather than compete—like fire and water coexisting in the same vessel.
Texture completes the dialogue.
The satin glide of blanched wagyu meets the mellow viscosity of mature Koshu, and the line between liquid and solid gently dissolves.
What remains is calm richness—heat transformed into flavor.
A white wine with spice may seem a contradiction—until time intervenes.
In the moment when heat relaxes and umami rises in its place, the pairing reveals its quiet truth:
Japan’s native grape, refined by age, embracing Sichuan’s intensity with grace.
At the heart of Ji-Cube’s cuisine, warmth and stillness, East and West, strength and tenderness come together—and the only thing left is flavor.
Ji-Cube
Sommelier Kiyoshi Yoshioka
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