Chinese cuisine

Medium

Spicy Steamed Ribs With Rice Meal

Steamed pork ribs is one of Sichuan’s traditional famous dishes, also known as “Original Steamer Jade Hairpin”. This dish with a simple and elegant name is because the ribs after steaming look like the “jade hairpin” that ancient women put on the hair bun. The “original steamer” refers to the small bamboo woven steamer used to steam this dish.

Chef Chen Yichun

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Recipe

PRE TIME: 30 min

COOKING TIME: 1 hr

TOTAL TIME: 1 hr 30 min

2 SERVING

Ingredients:

1 lb. Pork spare ribs
3 oz. Long-grain white rice
5 oz. Yam or sweet potatoes
1 tsp. Green onion
1 tsp. Cilantro (Chinese parsley)
Marinade
1 tbsp. Rice wine or Shaoxing wine
1 tbsp. Fermented sweet rice
1 tbsp. Fermented bean curd
1 tbsp. Light soy sauce
1 tbsp. Minced fresh ginger
1 tbsp. Ground roasted Sichuan peppercorn
3 stalk Green onions, sliced into thin rings
1 tbsp. Pixan broad bean paste (or Sichuan chilli bean paste)
4 tbsp. Chicken stock
3 oz. Minced rice with Sichuan peppercorn

Directions:

Step 1

Cut the pork ribs into 1-inch (3 cm) pieces.

Step 2

In a large skillet, add the Sichuan peppercorn and cook for 15 to 20 seconds until fragrant. Stir in the rice over a moderate flame, until the grains are brittle, yellowish and slightly fragrant. This will take 10-15 minutes. (Some cooks fry the rice with a star anise and a few bits of cassia bark to enhance its fragrance.) Remove from skillet and leave to cool.

Step 2-1

When the rice is cold, grind it in a food processor until it is of a coarse consistency, a bit finer than cous-cous, not powder-fine.

Step 3

Peel and mince the fresh ginger.

Step 4

Finely chop the green onion and Sichuan peppercorn into a paste.

Step 5

Put the ribs into a bowl, add all the marinade ingredients, mixing well to encrust the ribs with rice grains, and leave in a cool place for 30 minutes.

Step 6

Cut the yam or sweet potatoes into bite size pieces.

Step 7

Place the yam at the bottom in a bamboo steamer, add the marinated ribs on top, and steam over boiling water on high heat for about 45 minutes.

Step 8

Top it with cilantro, green onions, and serve.

Final Notes

The Pixan broad bean paste itself contains quite a bit of salt. Be careful when adding salt to the ribs if needed. If yam or sweet potato is available, you can use potatoes or pumpkin instead. You can also season sweet potatoes the same way as with ribs. When steaming, be sure to add enough water to the pot to prevent the water from drying out. In Sichuan cuisine, bamboo steamer is also one of the important kitchen utensils. The dishes cooked with bamboo steamer have a pure taste. If you use the new bamboo steamer, you can also smell the fresh fragrance of bamboo. The dish cooked in a small bamboo steamer is delivered to the table and presented in front of the guests. It has a unique flavor, and is overflowing with fragrance.