Look at the glistening sauce!
It’s been a while since I last shared a savoury dish! I actually made this dish more than 1 month back, when I was browsing for lunch ideas (as usual haha). I chanced upon this recipe at one of my favourite foodies’ blog – Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids. As a black vinegar lover, I really like the idea of using it in a dish, especially after my previous success with braising chicken with black vinegar.
Do you know black vinegar has a lot of health benefits?
I ended up braising the meat in a pot as my pork ribs are pretty huge and using the oven would have taken a really long time (my stomach couldn’t wait!). I served it with my mediocre attempt on fried rice and it was so good! Definitely a must try for those who love the taste of black vinegar!
Am I making you hungry? 😉
Step-by-step Photos | |
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| 1) Wash and trim off the excess fats. | 2) Blanch the pork ribs. |
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| 3) Combine cinnamon sticks, star anise, garlic, ginger and brown sugar together. | 4) The brands of vinegar and oyster sauce I used. |
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| 5) Add in the oyster sauce. | 6) Followed by the black vinegar. |
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| 7) And some water to thin the sauce. | 8) Add in the blanched pork ribs and braise until tender. |
Thank you for the recipe, Zoe! Do check out her blog for more delicious recipes!
Asian Braised Pork Ribs
INGREDIENTS
- 500 grams pork ribs, about 4 medium pork ribs, about 3 to 4-inch long
- 2 sticks cinnamon
- 1 star anise
- 1 thumb ginger, peeled and sliced thickly
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed and left unpeeled
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup oyster sauce
- 1/2 cup Chinese black vinegar
- 3/4 cup to 1 cup water
INSTRUCTIONS
- Fill a large pot - big enough to fit the pork ribs side by side - half full with water. Bring the water to a rolling boil. Rinse the pork ribs, trim off excess fats and add them into the pot of boiling water. Keep the water on a boil and boil the ribs for 5 minutes. Drain the pork ribs and wash off any dirt and/or blood. Set aside.
- Wash the pot clean and add in the rest of the ingredients. Add in the pork ribs. Cover and bring the sauce to a boil. Turn the heat down to low and simmer for 1 to 2 hours, depending on how huge is your pork rib and how tender you want it to be. Turn the pork ribs occasionally.
- Remove the pork ribs with a slotted spoon. Skim the layer of fat off the surface of the sauce and if the sauce is not thick enough, boil and reduce the sauce until thick and syrupy. Drizzle the sauce sparingly over the ribs (as the sauce is pretty salty). Best served with rice.
NOTES
Super Naggy:
- Looks weird isn’t it, when I say that the recipe can serve 2 to 4 people? Well, this is because in usual Chinese dinner setting, we usually will be serving the meat dish with other dishes (probably a vegetable dish and soup), hence 500 grams of pork ribs will probably be too much for 2 people to finish (unless you are feeding some really hungry people). If you are just serving the pork ribs with fried rice (like what I did in the photos), then 500 grams of pork ribs would have been just nice for 2 people.
- Blanching the meat helps to boil out the impurities, scum and blood, leaving a clear sauce so that you won’t have to keep skimming off the sauce later on.
- Pork ribs can be expensive, so you can choose to use another part of pork – I think pork butt would be a good alternative!
- You can have your butcher to chop the pork ribs into smaller pieces (mine were about 3 to 4-inch long), so that it will take a shorter time to cook.
- You can also use the oven to roast the ribs, but it will take a longer time for the pork ribs to be tender. But the good thing about using the oven is that you don’t have to worry about it at all!
What are you thinking?