粉蒸排骨
This is not a dish that I've ever seen in restaurants, but it's something that I grew up eating a lot at home. Apparently it's a very popular cooking technique in southern China, and it's one of my personal favorites. The spare ribs turn out tender, juicy, and flavorful, and the potato soaks up all the savory goodness. Very easy to make if you have some time to spare and absolutely delicious!
Active Time: 25 min
Total Time: 5 hr
Ingredients
> Spare ribs (1.5 lbs)
> Steam rice powder (about 3oz)
> Potato (about 1 extra-large or 2 medium)
> Soy sauce
> Cooking wine
> Garlic, ginger, green onion
Instructions
1. Cut the spare ribs into somewhat small pieces. Place them into a bowl, and marinade in approximately a 1:1:1 ratio of soy sauce, cooking wine, and water. Add a few cloves of garlic, a few slices of ginger, and a couple of 2-inch pieces of green onion to the marinade. Let marinade for 4-6 hours in the fridge.
2. Peel the skin from the potato and cut into thick slices. Arrange the slices at the bottom of a deep plate.
3. Remove the spare ribs from the fridge. Coat each piece with the rice powder. and arrange over the top of the potato, forming a single even layer if possible.
4. Meanwhile, prepare a steamer over medium heat. Once the steamer comes up to temperature, place the plate with the spare ribs and potato in. Cook for approximately 1 hour.
5. Remove, serve, and enjoy!
Notes/Tips:
> Not all recipes do this, but I think that adding the potato at the bottom adds a great touch to this recipe. In of themselves, potatoes are pretty bland, but they soak up all the rendered fat and flavorful steam rice powder as it cooks. Any starchy root vegetable works, like taro or sweet potato.
> Choosing the right steam rice powder is very important. My personal preference is for larger grains of rice that soak up more moisture. Unfortunately, I was not actually able to find this at the grocery store last time so I made do with another type. I also don't remember which brand is my favorite...
> Most of my measurements and timings are completely hand-wavy, so feel free to adjust the marinade and cooking time to your personal preference.
> Try making your own rice powder! It's fairly easy - mostly just glutinous rice and a mixture of Chinese spices.