With the colour red representing prosperity and happiness, red dishes are often cooked during Lunar New Year. The pork is firstly blanched with aromats and then cooked slowly in a sticky soy based sauce. The result is melt-in-the-mouth pork, full of flavour, the perfect balance of savoury, spice and sweet.
Serves 2-3
Ingredients
- 500g pork spare ribs
- 1 inch ginger, sliced
- 2 spring onions, cut into batons
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp neutral flavoured oil
- 1/4C Chinese cooking wine
- 1 tbsp light soy
- 1 tbsp dark soy
- 1 star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
Method
- Place them in a saucepan and fill with water, until the ribs are completely submerged.
- Add in the ginger and spring onion and bring to a boil.
- Simmer for 5 minutes and remove any of the impurities (scum/foam) that comes to the surface.
- Drain the pork, reserving 500ml of the water. Pat dry the pork and reserve ginger and spring onions too.
- Place a wok or large saucepan over low heat and add in sugar and and oil, watching careful until the sugar melts and becomes a golden colour.
- Add the pork into the sugar and cook until the outside starts to caramelise. Cook for a couple of minutes.
- Add in the Chinese cooking wine, light soy, dark soy, star anise, cinnamon and reserved water and ginger and spring onion.
- Turn heat to high to bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and cook for 1 hour.
- Once the pork is tender, increase the heat and cook, stirring constantly until the liquid thickens and coats the pork in a glossy sauce.
- Serve alongside rice with and garnish with spring onion.
