On a cold winter’s day, sitting on the wooden chair at home, taking a bite of the heartwarming braised pork rib rice, in the slow and deliberate chewing, I can feel that warmth slowly spreading from my tongue to my core, even reaching every limb and bone. This steaming hot delicacy is the result of my mother’s dedication, and it carries the taste of home.
Ingredients for Braised Pork Rib Rice：
| Pork ribs | 200g |
| Rice | 300g |
| Corn | 50g |
| Pea | 50g |
| Carrot | 50g |
| Ginger | 5g |
| Cooking wine | 6g |
| Salt | 3g |
| Soy sauce | 6g |
| Dark soy sauce | 3g |
| Oyster sauce | 3g |
| Rock sugar | 5g |
| Pepper powder | 3g |
Step:
1.Let’s start preparing the ingredients. First, place the carrot on the cutting board, wash it thoroughly, and cut it into small even dices with a vegetable knife. Place the diced carrot in a plate and set aside. Next, peel the corn kernels and peas separately, and add them to the plate as well. With this, the vegetable part is prepared.Moving on, let’s handle the pork ribs. Rinse the pork ribs with clean water to remove any blood or impurities. After washing, place the pork ribs on the cutting board and cut them into medium-sized pieces with a vegetable knife. Be careful not to cut them too small, as it may affect the texture. Once cut, set the pork rib pieces aside.Lastly, take out the ginger, wash it, and slice it thinly with a vegetable knife. Pay attention to slicing the ginger as thin as possible, as it will enhance the flavor during the cooking process. Once sliced, set the ginger slices aside.
2.Place the pork ribs in a pot of cold water, add a few slices of ginger and a suitable amount of cooking wine. Then, heat the pot over medium heat and gradually increase the water temperature. This will allow the blood and impurities in the pork ribs to be released from the meat. During the heating process, you will notice that the water in the pot gradually becomes cloudy. This is a normal phenomenon as the blood and impurities are being expelled from the pork ribs.After heating for a while, you will see more foam and impurities floating on the water surface. At this point, you can turn up the heat slightly to rapidly increase the water temperature until the foam stops increasing. Then, reduce the heat a bit and continue heating until the pork ribs are fully cooked.Once blanching is complete, remove the pork ribs from the pot and rinse them with warm water to remove any impurities and foam from the surface. This blanching process ensures that the pork ribs are clean and hygienic, reducing impurities and unwanted flavors during the cooking process, resulting in a more delicious final dish.
3.To prepare the secret sauce, start by pouring 3g of salt into a sauce bowl. Then add 3g of black pepper powder. Next, pour in 6g of soy sauce, followed by 3g of dark soy sauce. Add 3g of oyster sauce and 3g of cooking wine. Finally, use chopsticks to stir the mixture until all the seasonings are well combined. This way, the secret sauce is ready.
4.To start cooking, add an appropriate amount of cooking oil to the pot and heat it over medium heat. Then, add the rock sugar to the pot and stir-fry it over low heat until it melts and caramelizes. At this point, you’ll be able to smell a sweet caramel aroma.Next, add the prepared pork rib pieces to the pot and stir-fry them over medium heat until they are evenly browned. Pay attention to the intensity of the heat to avoid burning or undercooking the pork ribs. Once the pork ribs are evenly browned, pour in the secret sauce that was prepared earlier and continue stir-frying over medium heat until the various seasonings in the sauce quickly dissolve and blend with the pork ribs.Then, pour in a bowl of warm water, making sure the water covers the pork ribs. Be cautious not to pour too much water to prevent the pot from drying out. Cover the pot with a lid and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes.
5.Carefully wash the rice and pour it into the rice cooker. Next, pour the braised pork ribs into the rice cooker as well. To ensure the texture of the rice and pork ribs, it’s important to pour in the soup as well, making sure the liquid level is one finger joint above the rice. This will prevent the rice from being too dry or too wet while allowing the pork ribs to flavor the rice.Next, cover the rice cooker with its lid and start cooking the rice. Pay attention to the heat and cooking time during the process. Once the cooking is complete, open the rice cooker lid and a tantalizing aroma will greet you. At this point, you will see that the rice has absorbed the flavors from the pork ribs and soup, presenting a shiny red color.
6.Heat the pan over medium heat and pour in an appropriate amount of cooking oil. The aroma and heat of the cooking oil help to evenly heat the ingredients, preserving their nutrients and texture. Next, add the prepared corn kernels, peas, and diced carrots to the pan. These ingredients bring various colors and textures to the dish, with sweet corn kernels, tender peas, and flavorful carrots, making the dish more vibrant.After adding the ingredients to the pan, sprinkle some salt according to taste. Salt enhances the flavors, making the dish more delicious. Be careful not to add too much salt, as it may overpower the natural taste of the ingredients. Then, start stir-frying the ingredients. You can add a small spoonful of water to the pan. The addition of water helps the ingredients cook through easily while maintaining their freshness and tenderness.Finally, cover the pan with a lid and simmer over low heat for 5 minutes. Simmering allows the flavors to penetrate the ingredients further while preserving their texture and nutrients.
7.Pour the stir-fried vegetable mixture into the steamed pork rib rice, enhancing both the color and texture while adding richness and deliciousness. At this point, you can stir the pork rib rice, allowing the vegetable mixture to fully blend with the rice, ensuring that each bite contains the freshness of the vegetables and the aroma of the pork ribs.This delicious pork rib rice not only has a delightful taste but is also nutritionally rich, providing protein, carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins, and more. It is not only tasty but also easy to prepare, making it perfect for a busy lifestyle. Whether served as a main dish or a snack, this pork rib rice will satisfy your culinary cravings.
Tips:
1.After the rice and pork ribs are cooked, it’s best not to immediately open the lid of the pot. At this stage, the rice and pork ribs haven’t fully absorbed the flavor of the soup. Allowing them to simmer for a while longer will make the rice even more delicious.
2.It is preferable to use mature ginger as it has a stronger spicy flavor. Cooking it together with the pork ribs will enhance the dish’s umami taste.
The taste I remember is my mother’s braised pork rib rice, where every grain of rice was filled with the aroma of the pork ribs. No matter how exquisite and delicious other meals outside may be, they can’t compare to a bowl of my mother’s braised pork rib rice. Whenever I miss that taste, I try to replicate my mother’s cooking. Cooking a pot of steaming hot rice, paired with my favorite pork ribs, instantly transports me back home.