by Grace Young
from The Breath of a Wok
(Simon & Schuster, 2004)
Serves 2 or 3 as a main dish or 4 as part of a multicourse meal

Pork is symbolic of prosperity and is a favorite dish served for Chinese New Year’s. The Chinese also like to serve sweet and sour dishes as the word sour in Cantonese syun, sounds like grandchild, and portends the wish for offspring.

convert Ingredients
2 pounds lean pork spareribs, cut into single ribs
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon black soy sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese red rice vinegar, or red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon ketchup
1 tablespoons Shao Hsing rice wine or dry sherry

Method
1. Trim excess fat from the spareribs. Rinse in cold water and pat dry with paper towels until almost dry to the touch. Place the spareribs in a 3-quart saucepan. Sprinkle them with sugar and toss to combine. Marinate 30 minutes. Pour off excess liquid.

2. Add the regular and black soy sauces, vinegar, ketchup, rice wine, and ½ cup cold water, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil over high heat, covered. Reduce to medium-low and simmer, stirring occasionally to make sure the sauce does not dry up (add a little water if necessary) for 1 hour, or until the spareribs are tender when pierced with a knife and the sauce is thick enough to lightly coat a spoon. Transfer to a plate and skim excess fat from the sauce. Pour sauce over the spareribs. Serve immediately.

Recipe © 2004 by Grace Young. All rights reserved.
© 2009 Leite’s Culinaria, Inc. All rights reserved. Terms of use.

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