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.
