Gab's Spare Ribs

Gab's Spare ribs

Ingredients

Pork spareribs

Vegetable oil 

Sliced ginger

Smashed garlic

Star anise (only a small amount is needed, ie. a few "arms" per serving of meat)

Dried marinated mustard greens (Mei Gan Cai, adds great depth. Maybe 1/2 tsp. per serving)

Cooking wine (Shao Xing cooking wine)

Water

Soy sauce

Sugar

Dutch over or pot/pan with high sides and lid

* Optional: fresh seaweed knots, bamboo shoots, hard boiled egg, daikon chunks

1. At high heat, sear pork in hot oil with ginger, garlic, chilies and anise until brown.

2. Add cooking wine, cover pot until wine is cooked off.

3. Add Mei Gan Cai (about 1/2 tsp/serving).  Let cook and develop color, lid off.

4. When "jus" is cooking off, add enough cold water to cover meat.

5. Cover and cook on high heat until liquid starts to boil.

6. Add soy sauce (this is your source of salt, so enough to give color and saltiness) and a little sugar and continue to cook on medium heat.

*Optional: when meat is about half-way done, you can add any of the other ingredients . . . I would only choose one or two at the most

7. Keep covered and cook on low heat until the meat is completely tender.