Thursday, June 3, 2010

MINI SPARERIBS BRAISED IN BLACK BEAN SAUCE (“Pai Goo”)

Thanks for sticking around while the Dragon Lady has been on hiatus for the last three weeks.  My “day job” as a producer took me to a project in London, followed by three days of fun in Los Angeles!  So I’m sorry to have left you hungry, but I do have a delicious braised pork recipe for you to sink your teeth into.  Literally.

However, the meat in this recipe becomes so succulent from braising, you won’t have to sink your teeth in very far at all…because the pork will just effortlessly fall off the bone.  If you’re a big fan of braised lamb shanks or short ribs, this one’s for you.  Ask your butcher to cut a rack of pork spareribs into “sweet and sour” sized strips.  You’ll end up with the perfect, bite-sized pieces of tender pork, drenched in a mouth-watering soy sauce/black bean garlic gravy.  Fire up a huge pot o’ rice and stir-fry some baby bok choy…the Dragon Lady has come home for dinner!

For my birthday meal (and when I was pregnant!), I would always request “Pai Goo” from my mom.  But now that I know how easy it is, I don’t have to wait for my birthday anymore!  Make sure there's plenty of rice -- the gravy is spectacular.  Bonus feature:  freezes and re-heats extremely well. 

Serves 6
1 rack pork spareribs* (4 1/2 – 5 ½ pounds)
1 cup soy sauce**
3 tablespoons black bean garlic sauce (found in the Asian food section in most supermarkets)
¼ cup white or red wine (optional)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 slice fresh ginger root, about 1/2” thick (optional)
1 ½ tablespoons corn starch
¾ cup cold water
¼ cup sliced green onions

Steamed white or brown rice.

*Ask your butcher to cut the rack into “Sweet and Sour” strips (which should result in about 4 long strips, approximately 2” wide each)

**Watching your sodium intake?  Substitute low sodium soy sauce.  Or use ½ cup regular soy sauce + ½ cup low sodium soy sauce.

Cut in between the bones of each strip of pork sparerib to create approximately 2” to 3” pieces of pork; trim any excess fat and discard.  In a large stock pot, bring 3 quarts water to boil; add pork.  Cover; bring water to boil again (about 5-7 minutes); remove from heat.  Drain pork in a colander in the sink; rinse thoroughly with cold water for several minutes.

In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, black bean garlic sauce, wine and sugar.  Transfer pork to a large pot (braising pot or French oven works well) on medium heat; add sauce mixture; stir to coat pork evenly.  Add ginger; cover and simmer on low to medium heat (stirring every 10 minutes) until pork is fork-tender and begins to fall off the bone, about 50-60 minutes. 

In a small bowl, dissolve corn starch with ¾ cup cold water.  Add to pork; stir and continue to simmer until sauce thickens, about 3-4 minutes.  Discard ginger; sprinkle with green onions.  Serve over steamed white or brown rice.