BRAISED PORK SPARE-RIBS

Serves 4.

Preparation & cooking time: 25–30 mins & marinating time.

You definitely need a Chinese cleaver to chop the spare-ribs into bite-size pieces for this dish.

450–550g (1–1 ¼lb) pork spare-ribs

1 tablespoon soft brown sugar

1 teaspoon dark soy sauce

2 teaspoons light soy sauce

1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine

2 teaspoons cornflour

about 600ml (1 pint) seasoned oil

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

2–3 spring onions, cut into short sections

1–2 small hot green or red chillies, cut into small bits*

2 tablespoons black bean sauce

about 150ml (¼ pint) stock or water

1 medium green pepper, seeded and cored, cut into small cubes

Remove excess fat, then chop each individual rib into 3–4 bite-size pieces, then marinate in the sugar, soy sauces, wine and cornflour for at least 1 hour.

Heat the oil until hot, deep-fry the ribs for about 1–2 minutes or until golden brown, remove and drain.

Pour off the excess oil, leaving about 2 teaspoons in the wok, stir-fry the garlic, spring onions, chillies and black bean sauce for about 30–40 seconds, add the spare-ribs, and blend well; now add the stock or water with the marinade, bring to the boil, reduce the heat and braise under cover for 8–10 minutes, stirring once or twice and adding a little more stock or water ifnecessary. Finally, uncover and add the green pepper, increase the heat to high again, and stir-braise for 1 more minute to reduce the sauce. Serve hot.

*NB Handle fresh chillies with great care.

hancheng

See author's posts