Kit's Steamed Spare Ribs with Black Beans (豉汁蒸排骨)

From Kit; Adapted from Made with Lau

Notes: I made this with 4 lbs of spare ribs and it took 4 batches of steaming.

Ingredients:
Main Ingredients

• 1 lb pork spare ribs (cut across the bone by the butcher)
• 1 Tbsp dried fermented black bean (Brand: Yang Jiang Preserved Black Beans With Ginger)
• 1 Tbsp cornstarch (for rinsing ribs)
• 3-4 cups boiling water

Marinade (see steps below)

• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp ginger, minced
• 2 pieces green onion, chopped
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 Tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
• 1/2 Tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 Tbsp cornstarch (for marinade)

Directions:

1. Wash and rehydrate black beans
   Place our fermented black beans (1 tbsp) in a bowl, and rinse them under running water for 15-20 seconds. Gently massage the beans as you do this. Drain the water, and set the bowl aside to let the beans rehydrate.
2. Cut spare ribs
   Cut the spare ribs (1 lb) between the bones into small pieces (about 1 to 1.5 inches), and place them into a bowl.
3. Rinse and dry ribs
   Add cornstarch (1 Tbsp) to the ribs, and massage the ribs around to evenly mix the cornstarch around the surface of each rib. The cornstarch helps bind to the myoglobin and juices that we're looking to cleanse out. Rinse the ribs in running water for 1 to 2 minutes, massaging the ribs as you go. Pour out all of the water, and squeeze as much liquid as possible out of the ribs before placing the ribs in a new bowl.
4. Marinate ribs
   Prepare the marinade by mixing salt, sugar, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine, garlic, and ginger in a separate bowl. Add marinade to the ribs, and mix and massage the bowl of ribs for 45-60 seconds to distribute all of the flavors. Squish the black bean with your fingers, then add the black beans to the ribs and mix / massage the ribs for 20-30 seconds. Add the sesame oil and cornstarch (2 Tbsp; or until liquid is gone), and mix/massage the ribs around for another 60 seconds to evenly coat each rib with cornstarch. Massaging the ribs, i.e. applying a little bit of pressure, helps the meat absorb the flavors and tenderizes the meat a bit. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge to marinate for 6 hours to overnight.
5. Prepare to steam ribs
   Place a steamer rack in the center of a wok. Add enough boiled water so that it just barely covers the entire steamer rack. Transfer the ribs into the plate you'll be steaming with, being careful not to let any ribs be covered by one another.
6. Cover wok & steam
   Carefully place the plate of ribs on top of the steamer rack. Double check to make sure that there's a little bit of water touching the bottom surface of the plate. Cover the wok, set the stove to its highest heat setting, and steam the spare ribs for 25 minutes.
7. Garnish & enjoy!
   After 25 minutes, turn the heat off, uncover the wok, garnish with the green onions, and carefully remove the plate from the wok. Enjoy!

Mom's Hong Shao Rou (红烧肉)

From Mom

Notes: on an electric stove, medium heat or sometimes medium-high heat worked better than medium-low for the parboil and initial stir-fry. Instead of a wok, a medium-sized Dutch oven worked as well.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs pork belly (try to buy a piece with less fat/more meat)
• 1 Tbsp neutral cooking oil (i.e., vegetable or canola)
• 2 Tbsp rock candy 冰糖 (may substitute with brown sugar)
• 4 pieces green onion, cut into 2 inch sections
• 6 slices/coins of ginger
• 2 star anise pods 八角
• 1 inch cinnamon stick
• 1 dried red hot pepper
• 10 Sichuan peppercorns
• 5 pieces dried sand ginger slices 沙姜片 (may substitute with dried galangal slices)
• 2/3 cup Shaoxing wine
• 2 Tbsp light soy sauce 生抽
• 1 Tbsp dark soy sauce 老抽
• 1 Tbsp Chinkiang vinegar (may substitute with others brands of Chinese black vinegar)
• 4-8 oz roasted chestnuts

Directions:

1. Get rid of stinky pork smell:
   Cut Pork belly into 1.25 inch by 1.25 inch square; put them into a large pot. Add tap water into the pot until the water is 1 inch above the meat. Put the pot on medium low heat until water and meat have been boiling for about 5 minutes. Take out the meat, wash them in warm water to get rid of all brown blood. Drain the meat to get rid of extra water.
2. Put a wok on medium low heat, add cooking oil, meat, and sugar; stir-fry them until sugar is melted. Add the rest of spices except cooking wine. Add cooking wine (2/3 cup or less or more) until the meat is about 1/2 covered by liquid. Cover the wok and bring liquid to boil, then turn heat to low (simmering with very small bubbles). After 10 minutes, do step 3.
3. Open the cover, stir the meat so that outer pieces are changed into inner locations. Add the chestnuts. Cover the wok
4. After another 20 minutes, repeat step 3; another 20 minutes, repeat step3. Check the liquid level to avoid the meat getting burned. The final product should have only a Tbsp liquid plus oil (more oil came out during cook). If there is too little liquid, add some warm water.
5. Repeat 3 in every 5 minutes until meat can be easily poked through by a pair of chopsticks. From the first coving the wok to the end, it takes about 55 minutes.
6. Turn off heat. Take meat into a plat/bowl but leave all spices in the wok. Take out big pieces of spice such as ginger, green onions. Hold a strainer over the meat plat/bowl, pour the gravy along with small piece spice into the strainer. Throw away the spice.

Crock Pot Asian-Style Ribs

Verdict: win?

Country-style ribs were on sale last week, so I purchased a bunch to try out this recipe. I halved the recipe and cooked the ribs in the crock pot on low for around 8 hours. The original recipe is posted below, but I took some liberties in using lime juice instead of orange juice for the ponzu substitute, and I did not broil the ribs. I'm not sure if it's because the liquid didn't completely cover the meat that made the meat a bit more dry, but overall it was a bit dry and quite salty. It was much more balanced chopped up and sauteed with green beans, and I imagine it'd also be great for fried rice, but I'm not sure I'd make this again without figuring out what I did wrong.

Perfectly Pulled Pork

Verdict: win

About a month ago, my friend Albert won an R2-Cuervo Smoker from a raffle at Hamptons on King, our go-to and favorite bar.

He's been storing it in our back yard, and yesterday he spent 14 hours smoking this beaut.

It was worth it.

Mojo-Marinated Pork Kebabs with Mango

Verdict: win

I bookmarked this recipe as soon as it was posted on Serious Eats. Definitely a win with the tart/savory pork and grilled sweet mango combo. The recipe requires little active time, too boot!

I'm tempted to just make a batch of the marinade and keep it in the freezer. It's pretty bomb. For the record, lime juice + OJ is a great alternative to fresh sour orange juice, and if you're in a pinch you can use orange mango Naked Juice (just had some in the fridge - I'm not a big OJ drinker) or some other juice variation of that sort. Next time I would just grill pork chops with the mojo marinade instead of making kebabs, because it's so difficult to not overcook the kebabs.

Grilled Mustard-Marinated Pork Chops with Caramelized Onions

Verdict: win

I'm a bargain shopper. Always have been, always will be - it's in my genes (thanks, mom!). So when 1/2-inch pork chops are on sale for BOGO at Market District, I have to buy them. DY and I were in the mood for mustard-laden pork with caramelized onions, so I did a quick Google search, found this Food Network recipe, and then adapted it to my needs. The marinade is so quick and so easy. If you like mustard like I do, feel free to slather on more mustard while grilling the pork chops, or serve it on the side. The real surprise winner was the dash of balsamic vinegar added to the onions - it adds a umami and complex quality that I adored (if you like onions, double the recipe!). Served with a side of rice and a glass of Belgian-style ale - I was a happy camper.

Spicy Sausage and Kale Soup

Verdict: Win

Finally! It's spring break, and I have (theoretically) all the time in the world to cook up a storm. Unfortunately, the kitchen I'm visiting has a sad collection of spices and cooking utensils (meaning all I have are salt, pepper, a medium-sized pot, a large skillet, and a baking pan). They get the job done, but I miss my spices and gadgets from home...

I've been eying the several sausage and kale soup recipes that have popped up on my Google Reader for the past few months. I didn't have a recipe on hand, so I winged it...with pretty good results, I think! I'm always hesitant to share recipes that I threw together without consulting a recipe. I never know if I'm committing a grave cooking faux pas...but this was too delicious not to post. The soup came together quickly and doesn't require much work. The best part is that I didn't need to season anything - the hot Italian sausage took care of it all. If spicy isn't your thing, mild or sweet Italian sausage could work well as a substitute.

Pork Chop with White Wine Sauce

Verdict: Win

My photo's horrendous (it screams AMATEUR and how much I want a macro lens...), but don't let that fool you into thinking that this dish was anything but great. I grew up eating pork often, but we never ate pork chops. For the longest time I thought that pork chops would be difficult to cook since I'm not familiar with them at all; however, looks like all you need is a meat thermometer to make it fool proof. I loved that I could finish an open bottle of wine and break out my cast iron skillet. The dish comes together so quickly, the onions and mushrooms are a perfect complement to the juicy pork, and it doesn't hurt that the sauce is lickably-fantastic.

Leftover Pho

Verdict:Win

I call this dish "Leftover Pho." I had leftover pork bones, so I made a broth with the bones and vegetables that needed to be used before they went bad. I had an excess amount of pho noodles from last week's pad thai, so I threw those in (I guess that makes this pho?) along with some stir-fried pork. Lastly, I had plenty of salad greens that I just tossed in until the greens wilted. With a dollop of sriracha this bowl of soup was so homey, and so satisfying...call me a soup-as-a-main-dish convert (Mom would be so proud). Below is my rough recipe, but if I've learned anything this past year of cooking, it's that sometimes recipes don't have to have set rules.

Roasted Brown Sugar Pork

Verdict: Win

Another recipe from DY's mom used for the pharmacy thanksgiving.

Baked Char Siu Bao

Verdict: Win

Char siu bao (or pork buns as some people know it) are my favorite kind of buns. I prefer the steamed bun over the baked ones, but these baked ones are a lot more homemade friendly. Steamed char siu bao, featured in so many dim sum restaurants, are have a distinct soft and fluffy texture from the use of low-protein flour (and other ingredients that were hard for me to find). They're filled with a characteristic red-colored Cantonese-style pork that contrasts deliciously with the stark white bun. These baked ones are equally tasty and are easier to make since all of the dough ingredients are usually found in anyone's pantry and more people own ovens than they do steamers. This dough is also robust and results in a light, slightly chewy (but still soft) bread.

One thing to note is that I used a bread machine to make my dough without a problem. I set it on the dough setting for 8 minutes, then took it out to rise in a separate bowl. Don't let your dough rise too much longer than the first 45 minutes, because it'll compromise the second rising and then the buns won't be as fluffy. I also topped my buns with sesame seeds just because it made them that much cuter.

Fried Rice with Pork Belly, Spinach, and Almonds

Just goes to show you can throw any leftovers into fried rice.

Roast Pork Loin with Garlic and Rosemary

blame the blurriness on DY
Verdict: Win

Perfect and easy as is, except I used pork tenderloin instead of pork loin. This recipe calls for a total of 45 minutes in the oven, but really it only needs about 15 minutes for a tenderloin. Too bad I didn't know this ahead of time, as my pork turned out a kind of dry :( Still tasty, though!

Roasted Pork Belly

Verdict: Win

Sigh, I really wanted this to turn out perfectly with that crackling crispy skin on top. Unfortunately, I'm not as familiar with my oven as I could be, so I didn't get the crispy skin. it still tasted great, but how can pork belly (aka what bacon's made of) not taste great? Next time I'll set the broil setting on low and adjust the rack higher.

Neely's Wet BBQ Ribs

Neely's Wet BBQ Ribs from Food Network

Verdict: Win

Ugh. DY and I are both suffering from an upset stomach, probably from all of the greasy St. Patty's Day food (and Jake's hot dogs...) from yesterday. So while I call this a win, my upset stomach prevented me from properly enjoying these ribs.

Changes: For 4 lbs of ribs, I halved the sauce, substituted molasses for light corn syrup, substituted Dijon mustard for dry mustard powder, and added red pepper flakes and cayenne pepper. I also baked the ribs in the oven at 300 degrees F for 2 hours covered with foil, then half an hour uncovered. I did not care for the dry rub mix, so next time I'll probably just make these oven-baked spare ribs again. It's also so much easier.

Oven Baked Spare Ribs

Verdict: Win

I needed a low maintenance meal while I studied biochemistry. I decided on this recipe as I barely had to do anything and only had to buy a package of country style ribs, 1 18 oz bottle of sweet baby ray's bbq sauce (sweet and spicy flavor), and OJ. I didn't use all of the bbq sauce and used less OJ, but the sauce still turned out a little watery in the end (but it was perfect to use as a dressing on my spinach). Two hours in the oven was sufficient to get nice, tender ribs.

Pork Chow Fun

Verdict: Win

I didn't have beef on me, so I sliced up some pork tenderloin. This satisfied my craving for some chow fun, but next time I will add more salt to the noodles and less black beans to the meat. I substituted yu choy for the gai lan too. I love mung beans, so next time I'll be sure to add more than I added tonight.

Tang Cu Pai Gu (Sweet and Sour Ribs)

Verdict: Win

Yum. I didn't get a chance to finish these last night, so I made them today around lunch time. Tang cu pai gu is one of my favorite childhood dishes. My grandmother would make them all the time when she stayed with us. She's since gone back home to China, and my mom doesn't make this as frequently. Now that I live on my own, I wanted to try recreating this favorite.

I didn't quite get the sauce syrupy enough, but the flavors definitely melded into the meat. I loved how the ginger tones actually came through each bite - I'm not sure if that has anything to do with the fact that I let the meat sit in the ginger/scallion broth over night (on accident)? I was also worried that the meat wouldn't be tender enough because I had cooked it so long, but it was still tender and quite good. Note: less vinegar, more sugar.

Stir Fried Pork And Cabbage With Black Bean Sauce

Verdict: Win

I really liked this dish! I cheated and used ground pork instead of pork tenderloin just because it was in my fridge. It was still pretty good, but next time I definitely want to try cooking with the pork tenderloin, and am going to use dark soy sauce and add some more cornstarch to the actual sauce. It was a quick dish and finally a way that I could eat some vegetables. I like this the best with a touch of Sriracha sauce.

Mapo Tofu Recipe

Verdict: Win

All in all, I liked this recipe a lot more than the allrecipes version. I tweaked the original recipe a little bit because I didn't have some of the ingredients. WARNING: add a ton of Sichuan peppercorns only if you want your face to go numb. love.