BPROS

A.k.a Braised Pork Ribs in Oyster Sauce. Okay, so that is not the most original or imaginative of titles. Oh, alright, that is probably the most downright silly title I could have come up with. BPROS indeed. But hey, it’s a Monday. Lapses of imagination and inspiration are allowed on a Monday.

That aside, this is a rather delicious dish. The ribs are tender and flavorful, and the gravy is super duper poured over steamed rice. It’s a fairly simple dish to prepare. It’s one of those dishes that can be prepared in advance, and given time to slowly cook and to get to its best flavor, leaving plenty of time to do other things and to get on with life. It’s also one of those dishes that taste even better the day after, when all the flavors have melded together even more.

Ingredients

approx. 1.5kg pork spare ribs (or roughly 6-8 pieces whole spare ribs)*
[pork loin back ribs or baby back ribs can, of course, be used instead, for an even more tender result. If using baby backs, simply shorten the cooking time accordingly to get near “fall off the bone” tenderness]

2 tablespoons cornflour
minced garlic

Marinade
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
½ teaspoon sugar
pepper

Sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
pepper
2 cups hot water

* [the weight is an estimate, as I never know the weight of the ribs I buy. I know this sounds rather silly, but it’s true. Whenever I buy ribs from the wet market, the very kind “uncle” (stall owner) always just asks me: “how many bones?” (i.e. how many ribs I want). And I’ll just say “6” or “8” or whatever number it is I want, and he simply cuts that amount of ribs for me, even helping me chop them into small pieces according to my size specification for the dish I want to cook. And so, I have no clue as to the weight of 6-8 pieces of whole spare ribs, but I would estimate it to be around 1.5kg?]

• Trim ribs of excess fat and skin, and cut into short 2-3” individual pieces.

• Mix the marinade ingredients together, and add the ribs. Allow to marinade for at least half hour or so.

• Lightly coat the marinated ribs with the two tablespoons of cornflour or however much is required to lightly coat all the ribs.

• Quickly flash deep fry the ribs to seal in all the juices. We don’t want to cook the ribs, just to get them to a nice light golden color. Remove from oil, and drain very well.

• Mix together the sauce ingredients, excluding the hot water.

• In a separate wok or large saucepan, heat a tiny bit of oil, and quickly sauté some minced garlic. Add the sauce mixture, followed by the ribs. Give a quick stir, and add the hot water. Mix well and cover the wok or pan.

• Leave the ribs to simmer and braise, on low heat, until very tender, but not quite falling off the bone. For me, it usually takes about 3 hours, but timing can vary depending on the quantity, size and type of ribs you are working with.

I like this dish in that it can be prepared in the morning and allowed to braise while I do other stuff. Then, once ready, it can be kept aside to allow the flavors to intensify and harmonize further. And when dinner time rolls around, it is just heated and served.

Have a “ribbing” good week everyone!

Copyright © 2004 Renee Kho. All Rights Reserved.
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