Boozy pork ribs - you need this recipe

Just a quick note to my lovely readers before we get going on this week's recipe:
- There is a quick story by me on the program called "The World" on Public Radio International.
- The summer grilling issue of Saveur features a big article on the Uyghur cuisine of Xinjiang with my recipes and features some friends of ours in Ürümqi. It's not online yet, but is on newsstands as we speak...
- The new Ghostbusters reboot by Paul Feig features a Chinatown design my husband and I helped with as cultural advisors, including the GB headquarters and surrounding buildings. 

Now, back to eating!

This is heavenly stuff. Easy to make, these ribs are downright aromatic just about every step of the way. 

First you marinate the pork in nothing but soy sauce, but when you fry it, the soy sauce caramelizes and turns your kitchen into a sweet-smelling chamber. 

I would cheerfully wear this scent instead of Chanel No. 5 because everyone would love me for it and I could forego any attempts at a fashioning some sort of personality. I am not proud of this fact, but want to be honest here.

The sauce is just as delicious-smelling. Wafts of fermented wine mix with ginger and green onions to form an alcoholic cloud, and when the pork is added, the perfumes seem to magnify.

Caramelization is the best

And when the meat has been cooked to absolute perfection, it transforms into tender pillows held together by those terribly convenient bones, which allow for relaxed snacking. The caramelized pork juices will have married perfectly with the wine and sugar, giving you a lovely balance of sweet and savory.

Boozy Pork Ribs is a great dish for any time of year. It’s also insanely easy to master the first time around. I’d serve this with either warm Shaoxing rice wine or a really cold stout.

Boozy pork ribs

Xiāngzāo lăozĭpái 香糟老子排

Zhejiang

Serves 4 as an appetizer, bar snack, or entree 

1 pound / 450g pork ribs, cut in half by your butcher

2 tablespoons regular soy sauce (see Tips)

1 cup frying oil

2 green onions, trimmed and finely chopped (keep most of the green leaves separate for the final step)

¼ cup / 30g finely chopped ginger

Stir-fry the aromatics

¾ cup / 180ml fermented rice (homemade or store-bought), both solids and liquid

1 tablespoon rock sugar, or more as needed (see Tips)

¾ cup / 180ml boiling water

1. Cut between the bones of the ribs so that each bone is surrounded by meat. Toss the ribs in a work bowl with the soy sauce and marinate for a couple of hours (or even a couple of days) so that the meat absorbs the soy sauce. Drain the ribs and discard any leftover marinade.

2. Pour the frying oil in the wok and set it over medium-high heat. When the oil starts to shimmer, add a handful of the ribs and fry them until they are lightly caramelized on all sides, about 10 minutes. Remove to a work bowl. Repeat with the rest of the ribs. Pour out all but about a tablespoon of oil.

Add the green onions leaves

3. Set the wok back over high heat. Add the whiter parts of the green onions as well as the ginger, and then stir-fry them to release their fragrance. (The soy sauce will have caramelized at the bottom of the wok, so take care that the aromatics don’t burn – do this by stirring constantly and removing the wok from the heat once they are golden.) Add the fermented rice, sugar, and water, bring this to a boil, and then slide in the ribs. 

4. Stir these around a bit and then reduce the heat to medium-low, or to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook the ribs for about 30 minutes, or until tender. Toss in the reserved green onions. Arrange the ribs on a serving plate. Reduce the sauce until thick and pour over the ribs. Serve hot or warm.

Tips

Every soy sauce and fermented rice is different, respectively, in terms of saltiness and sweetness. So, err on the side of less when you toss in condiments and seasonings like these, as you can easily add more. 

In this case, the fermented rice in particular can be everything from sour to highly alcoholic to saccharine – it all depends on what you have. Take a taste of it before you use it (a good idea with any seasoning, to be honest), and then adjust the sugar accordingly.

As is true for so many Chinese braises, try to hunt down rock sugar, preferably yellow rock sugar, which has not been bleached. This sort of sugar will make a world of difference in your dishes, for sauces and sweet soups will not have the slightly sour that white sugar can impart, and it lends an amazing sheen to porky or chicken creations like this. I mean look at these ribs. They shine like a rock diva. 

Feel better soup from Shanghai

If I were asked to think of another country where something sweet was considered therapeutic, I’d be hard pressed to come up with an answer. But China does this on a regular basis. Case in point: this marvelous concoction.

In many ways, this is very similar to a regular old fermented rice soup. Shanghai, though, manages to ratchet the flavors and textures and colors up a whole lot, creating something that is quite unique all the way around. Corn is in there to round out the nutrition and add wonderful bits for the teeth to play with, and wolfberries add a dash of scarlet and light sourness to the mix. Did I happen to mention that this is delicious, too?

Chinese moms whip up soups like this whenever someone doesn’t feel well, has had a baby, or is otherwise miserable. One reason for this is that the fermented rice gets the circulation going, which warms up the toes and makes life seem just a tad more livable. Second is that it just tastes so darned good. And third is, it’s a snap to pull together.

Shave off the kernels

Fermented rice, wolfberry, and corn soup

Gŏuqĭ jīróng yùmĭ gēng  枸杞雞蓉玉米羹

Serves 8

¼ cup / 30g wolfberries

Boiling water, as needed

2 ears fresh corn, or around 1½ cups / 300g frozen tender corn kernels

2 cups / 450ml fermented rice, both solids and liquid

Rock sugar, to taste

1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons cool water

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1. Rinse the wolfberries, place them in a small heatproof bowl, and cover with boiling water while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

2. Cut the corn off of the cobs and use your knife to scrape off any pulp and juice. Or, measure out the frozen corn.

Totally luscious

3. About 10 minutes before you serve this, bring 3 cups of water to a full boil in a medium saucepan. Add the wolfberries, their soaking liquid, and the corn. Allow the soup to come to a boil again, and then use a whisk to stir in the fermented rice so that it breaks apart into grains. Add about 1 tablespoon rock sugar, or to taste. When it comes to a boil the third time, stir in the cornstarch mixture until the soup has thickened.

4. Remove the pan from the heat and drizzle the eggs on top in a thin ribbon, back and forth. Wait for about a minute, and then gently stir to make the eggs form gentle wisps. Serve immediately.

Tips

This can be made ahead of time up through Step 3. But don’t add the eggs until the last minute, as you want them to be silky and soft. Reheating the soup just turns them leathery.

Consider this for breakfast, too

The secret to these velvety eggs is the way in which they are poached: the pan is taken off the heat, the eggs are dribbled across the top (never poured into the pan in a vast puddle), and then they are left alone to set up. This way they won’t turn into nasty little tough threads. Instead, they will be sensuous and calming. A simple trick, but incredibly useful.

If you don't want to serve this all at once, reserve half (or so) of the soup after you’ve finished with Step 3 and add the eggs to whatever you’re eating at the time.