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Wuxi pork ribs (無錫排骨) is a signature dish of Wuxi which is a coastal town located just outside Shanghai. The pork ribs are slowly cooked, and the sauce is reduced until the ribs are coated in a slightly sticky and aromatic sauce with fragrant notes of star anise and cinnamon.
It is traditionally made with red yeast rice which gives the sauce the glowing red colour. You can skip this ingredient as it is difficult to find outside China and does not contribute much to the taste. Although not conventional, as a substitute, I suggest using the red yeast rice juice that you find in red fermented bean curd.
The ribs should be salted overnight before cooking. This will enhance the flavour, juiciness and tenderness of the meat.
Ingredients
- 600g meaty pork ribs, chopped into 3-4 cm cubes
- 1 tbsp sea salt
- 1.5 tbsp red yeast rice juice from red fermented bean curd (but do not use the bean curd)
- 15g ginger, sliced
- 2 spring onions, cut the white parts into sections, and the green parts into fine dices
- 60 ml Shaoxing wine
- 2 star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick or cassia bark
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 40g rock sugar
- 500ml water
- 1.5 tsp potato starch or cornstarch, mixed with 3 tsp cold water
Instructions
- Rub the ribs with salt and chill overnight.
- Put the salted ribs in a saucepan and cover them with cold water. Bring to boil and blanch for 2 minutes. Rinse with cold running water to get rid of all the scum and impurities. Drain in a colander.
- Transfer the ribs to a cast iron or heavy casserole. Add all other ingredients except the potato starch / cornstarch mixture and the green parts of the spring onion. Bring to the boil and then reduce to low heat. Cover and simmer for 1.5 hours.
- Discard the ginger, spring onion and spices. Remove the ribs and set aside.
- Turn up the heat, reduce the sauce to about 1cm deep. Return the ribs to the sauce. Add the starch mixture and continue to cook until you get a slightly sticky, luxurious sauce. Adjust seasoning.
- Arrange the ribs attractively on a plate. Garnish with the spring onion dices.
Did You Make This Recipe?
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