Shanghai-Style Red Braised (Sweet & Sour) Spare Ribs in Japanese Carbon Steel Wok

FULL VIDEO: Episode #9 Shanghai-Style Red Braised (Sweet & Sour) Spare Ribs in Japanese Carbon Steel Wok.

Click here to see all Japanese wok models.

Shanghai Red Braised (Sweet & Sour) Spare Ribs use a kind of caramel to add flavour to the pork ribs. The cooking process is long and uses high heat. Pork ribs would scratch your non-stick cookware, but the lightweight and heat efficient Japanese carbon steel wok handles the dish well at home.

• Many of the ingredients can be found in Asian grocery stores or on Woolworths online.
• You may need to chop pork ribs in smaller sizes. You can buy the short pork ribs needed from Asian butchers.
• Be careful of oil splattering in the process.
• Be patient and check the food periodically. You don't want to burn your sauce.

Ingredients

• 500g of short pork ribs
• 3 slices of ginger
• 1 green onion stalk
• 15ml of Chinese Shaoxing Wine (a common type of Chinese cooking wine)
• 30g of rock sugar or crystallised sugar (crush into small pieces or substitute with normal white sugar)
• 1.5 teaspoons of soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon of white vinegar

Steps

1. Pour water in Happycall flex pan and place pork ribs inside.
2. Use high heat to bring the water to a boil. Add ginger, green onion and Chinese cooking wine.
   
3. Skim the surface and scoop up the foam to leave a clear liquid. This step is very important.
4. Remove the pork ribs and set them aside for later use
5. Some recipes suggest rinsing the pork ribs with water and draining them at this point. This step is optional.
   
6. Add oil to the wok and heat over medium high heat.
7. Add pork ribs when the wok is heated. Cook until the pork ribs turn brown.
8. Remove the pork ribs.
9. Add more oil to the wok and add rock sugar. Turn to low heat. Cook until the rock sugar turns brown.
   
10. Put the pork ribs in the wok and stir-fry until they are well coated in the syrup.
11. Add hot water to cover the pork ribs fully.
    
12. Turn to medium heat. Add soy sauce and vinegar.
13. You may add the same water used to cook the pork ribs. This is optional, but you may need to add more hot water to cover the pork ribs fully.
14. Cook for about 30 minutes to ensure the pork ribs are soft and tasty. You may use a lid to speed up the process.
15. After 30 minutes, turn to high heat to thicken the sauce again.
16. Adding white vinegar at this point is optional.
17. Remember to continue stir-frying the meat until you achieve a sticky deep brown colour.
18. Add white sesame and green onion. Enjoy!

Additional information: 

1. Remember a reasonably heated pan and heated oil (not overheating) are key.
2. Users will need basic cooking techniques and common sense (understanding of proper heat control, knowing how to check the food periodically, and so on).
3. Heat level, Please note that the heat levels shown below are for general reference only. Every cooktop is different. The following ranges apply if 10 is the maximum.

• Low heat: the heat level is 1-2.
• Medium low heat: the heat level is 3-4.
• Medium heat: the heat level is 5.
• Medium high heat: the heat level is 7-8.
• High heat: the heat level is 9-10.

Click here to see all Japanese wok models.