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Black vinegar ribs
Serves 4 Starters and mains
Ingredients
- 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and finely sliced
- 5–6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 800g pork spare ribs, cut into 3–4cm bite-sized pieces (ask your butcher to do this)
- 4–5 spring onions, roughly chopped, plus extra to garnish vegetable oil, to fry
For the sauce
- 6tbsp Chinkiang (black) vinegar or rice vinegar
- 4tbsp dark soy sauce
- 2tbsp Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
- 100g palm sugar or soft brown sugar
For the poaching liquid
- 5 star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 litre chicken stock
- 100ml Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
- 3tbsp light soy sauce
Method
Mix the sauce ingredients together in a small pan or wok, bring to a boil over a medium heat and continue boiling for 5 minutes or so until all the sugar has dissolved.
Build a ‘wok clock’ around a plate by organising your ingredients in the order you will need them. Start at 12 o’clock with half the ginger and garlic, followed by the poaching liquid ingredients (put the liquids in small bowls), the pork ribs, the rest of the ginger and garlic, the spring onions and the sauce.
Heat 1tbsp vegetable oil in a large pan set over a medium heat. Add the first batch of ginger and garlic and fry until they have started to brown around the edges. Add the star anise, cinnamon and bay leaves and fry for 30 seconds. Pour in the remaining poaching liquid ingredients and bring to a boil, then add the pork ribs, reduce the heat to low and simmer for around 45 minutes.
Heat a wok or pan to medium heat. Add a little oil, the rest of the ginger and garlic along with the spring onions and stir-fry for 1–2 minutes. Add the sauce and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low.
Remove the ribs from the poaching liquid with a slotted spoon and place them directly into the bubbling sauce. Boil over a medium heat for 10–15 minutes, stirring them through once in a while, until the sauce has reduced by half and turned into a glaze around the ribs.
Transfer to a platter and garnish with extra spring onions to serve.
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