Braised Country Ribs With Fermented Black Beans |
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Prep Time: 25 Minutes Cook Time: 20 Minutes |
Ready In: 45 Minutes Servings: 4 |
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This ribs are the essense of country-style chinese cooking. Ingredients:
4 pork ribs, cut in half crosswise (meaty, thick, and country style) |
flour (for dredging) |
2 tablespoons peanut oil |
1 onion, sliced thinly |
1 inch cube fresh ginger, peeled and sliced thinly |
5 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced thinly |
2 1/2 tablespoons fermented black beans, roughly chopped |
1/2 quart chicken broth or 1/2 quart vegetable broth |
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce |
4 medium japanese turnips, peeled and cut into chunks |
cornstarch, slurry |
1 scallion top, sliced thinly on the bias |
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped |
Directions:
1. Dredge ribs in flour, coating it thinly. Shake off excess.
2. Heat oil in the bottom of pressure cooker or stovetop casserole or Dutch oven. When it is nearly smoking, add ribs in a single layer, and allow them to brown deeply on that side, then turn them, repeating until all sides are golden brown. Do this in several batches as needed–if you crowd the pot it will lower the temperature too much and will make it harder to get that nice golden crust.
3. Remove the ribs and set them aside on a plate. Add onions to the pot, and stir, cooking until they turn a deep golden brown color. Add the ginger and chiles and continue cooking until onions are reddish brown. Add garlic and black beans and stir until fragrant.
4. Deglaze the pot with water, scraping up any browned bits left on the bottom. Add ribs back to the pot and add the chicken broth and soy sauce.
5. Bring to a boil. If using a pressure cooker, close lid, lock down and bring to full pressure. Turn down heat and cook at high pressure for about thirty minutes. If you are just using a regular pan, turn down the heat and cover the pot, and cook covered until the ribs are fork tender–it will probably take a couple of hours.
6. When the ribs are done, uncover the pot or pressure cooker and add turnips. Cook, uncovered, until turnips are fully tender and the sauce has reduced slightly.
7. Thicken sauce with cornstarch slurry, and remove meat and turnips to a heated serving bowl, with plenty of sauce. (As you pull the meat out of the pot, many of the bones will fall free–this is fine and to be expected. You can purposefully remove the bones before serving–this makes it a little easier to pick up chunks of pork with chopsticks, though in truth most of the Chinese folks I know like to nibble on the bones of ribs and spareribs, so you can leave them, too.).
8. Just before serving, sprinkle with scallion tops and cilantro.
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