Braised Pork Ribs

Braised Pork Ribs

　　Braised pork ribs mainly refer to braised pork spine ribs, also known as pork loin ribs. The most famous places to try this dish in Harbin are Wuji Braised Pork Ribs & Stew Restaurant and Wangji Braised Pork Ribs & Stew Restaurant. The pork ribs in Harbin are tender, flavorful without being greasy, and highly nutritious, giving visitors a true taste of the northeastern Chinese dining style — hearty portions of meat and drink.

　　Compared to some red-braised or red-stewed dishes, the seasonings used in northeastern braised pork ribs aren’t particularly different. The main characteristics come from the choice of main ingredient (bone-in, active muscle meat) and the “generous” size of each rib — roughly three or four braised pork spine ribs weigh about one pound. The large pieces of meat often become even more delicious after boiling and stewing, releasing an inviting aroma.

　　How to Cook

　　1. Briefly rinse large chunks of pork spine ribs, then place them in a large basin filled with clean water to soak for about 6–12 hours. You may change the water several times during soaking. If the room temperature is high, you can place the basin in the refrigerator to prevent spoilage.

　　2. After rinsing the ribs to remove the blood, place them in a large pot and add enough water to cover the bones. Add several pieces of ginger (lightly smashed), a few scallions tied into bundles, several star anise, a small handful of Sichuan peppercorns, a small piece of cinnamon, 2 bay leaves (optional), a bit of thirteen-spice powder (optional), Shaoxing wine, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, some fried caramel color, sugar, and an appropriate amount of black bean sauce or high-quality yellow soybean paste (optional).

　　3. Bring to a boil over high heat, then skim off any foam. Add an appropriate amount of salt (the stew needs to be quite salty to ensure the ribs absorb enough flavor, so use more salt than usual), then reduce to medium-low heat, cover, and simmer for about 1 hour.

　　4. Add an appropriate amount of chicken bouillon, then switch to medium–high heat, uncover, and continue braising for about 30 minutes (to reduce the broth slightly and let the flavors penetrate the meat and bones more deeply), then it’s ready to serve.

　　Key Points

　　1. To achieve a rich and full flavor in the braised ribs, it’s recommended to braise no less than 5 pounds of pork ribs at a time. For example, I braised nearly 8 pounds this time. As Yuan Mei, the ancient Chinese gastronome, suggested for boiled pork: “Unless it’s over twenty pounds, it will taste bland.” My five pounds is not a lot. Even though these are “red-braised ribs,” the principle that more meat leads to richer flavor still applies — if there’s too little meat, the flavor will end up mostly in the broth. If you’re working with a smaller amount of meat, you can reduce the broth a bit more to intensify the taste.

　　2. The first step of removing blood uses a long cold-water soak rather than the quicker “blanching” method, in order to better preserve the meat’s natural flavor. If you blanch the ribs, because of their size and quantity, you’d need to cook them for a longer time to fully remove the blood, which would inevitably lead to greater loss of meat flavor.

　　3. When making red-braised or stewed dishes, you can try using several different types of soy sauce or sauces together. This often results in a richer and more delicious final flavor. For example, in this recipe, besides using dark soy sauce and Wanjiaxiang aged soy sauce, I also added a small amount of Ve-Chan soy sauce, Lee Kum Kee black bean sauce, and a little bit of Maggi seasoning sauce.

　　4. The leftover broth from braised pork ribs is great for making braised eggs, smoked eggs, braised tofu skin/dried tofu, or tiger-skin eggs.