Sometimes when it comes to cooking the recipes for the food from dramas or books, it’s all experimental. This recipe is when I realize I need to pay closer attention to the food. As well as the cooking process. In Meteor Garden (2018), sweet and sour ribs were a specialty that Shancai’s mom made and sold. The ribs looked so yummy and delicious that this had to be a recipe I explore and cook. I found it funny that I cooked ribs again so recent since I cooked them for the book The Hate U Give.
When searching for a recipe that is similar to the drama, I scanned through many blogs. On the blog I discovered, I learned this recipe comes from Shanghai (not just China). This is a more immediate level recipe, so it requires more difficult skills. I did make mistakes while cooking. It was more of the situation and the supplies.
Cooking Setbacks
So while exploring this food from Shanghai, I had many obstacles. The first is my wok. I have a really small wok. After cooking this, I really want to purchase a new one. I used a wok when I made green curry chicken, but the size didn’t affect the cooking too much. While cooking this recipe, I didn’t have enough room to apply the sugar glaze on the ribs. Only a few were able to get it. Which leads me into another obstacle I had.
The Ribs.
Out of all the ingredients, who knew that finding the right ribs would have been the most difficult. The recipe called for spare ribs, but I could only find one cut of ribs–country style. So I took what I could find. After cooking, I probably should have spent more time looking for the spare ribs. The food still came out taste yummy, but I think ingredients matters. It seems like I had forgotten that. Next time for sure
The Cooking Process
This recipe comes from the blog, Omnivore’s Cookbook. The author ‘s original recipe is on the link. My recipe is a little different because I didn’t have everything. Things that I used that were not in the original recipe include: the Country style ribs instead of spare ribs, star anise extract instead of regular star anise, and ancho pepper for the dried peppers, and olive oil instead of peanut oil.
Sweet and Sour Pork Ribs
Ingredients
- ---Ribs---
- 1.5 pounds country style rib actually want to try the spare ribs in the original recipe
- 2 tablespoons shaoxing wine
- 1 thumb-size ginger sliced
- 5 – 6 green onion white part (save the green part for garnish)
- 1/2 tsp star anise extract
- 2 dried ancho pepper
- ---Stir-fry---
- 2 tablespoons Chinese black vinegar
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 tablespoons sugar
Instructions
- Rinse ribs with running water and transfer to large pot. Add water to cover ribs. Add shaoxing wine, ginger, green onion, star anise and pepper to the pot. Cover and bring to a boil. Uncover and continue to cook for 5 minutes. Use a ladle to skim the foam from the surface and discard it.
- Mix black vinegar and light soy sauce in small bowl, set aside.
- Add oil and sugar to a wok and cook over medium heat. Stir constantly with a spatula to dissolve the sugar slowly. When the sugar is fully dissolved, use spatula to scoop some liquid mixture to observe its color. When the sugar turns pale yellow, immediately and carefully add the ribs to the wok. Stir constantly to coat them well with melted sugar. Stir until the ribs turn golden brown, turn off heat.
- Transfer the ribs to a plate. Use spoon to scoop out the extra oil and transfer it to a small bowl, until there is only about 1 tablespoon of oil left.
- Turn heat to medium high. Return ribs to the wok. Pour the vinegar and soy sauce mixture over the ribs and quickly stir to mix well. Continue to stir until the sauce has reduced and is thick enough to coat the ribs. Stop heat immediately and transfer the ribs to a plate.
- Garnish the ribs with chopped green onion.
Notes
Afterthoughts
I was excited to use two new ingredients: Shaoxing wine and black vinegar. I now have a giant collection of vinegar.
This is what exploration cooking gets you.
What I also love is the brought that is leftover. I froze mine because I wouldn’t be able to use it before it spoils. The broth smells like pho and I plan to use it to make some.