Sunday, January 31, 2010

Red Cooked Pork Spare Ribs With Fresh Egg Noodles 紅燒排骨撈麵


My initial plan was to make ngau nam mien (braised beef brisket with egg noodles) but the brisket on offer at the butcher was not the best I have seen, pork ribs were used instead and the end result instantly brought me back to my childhood. There was this wonderful noodle shop in Cameron Highlands that served the best braised pork ribs I ever had, sadly the quality of the food declined after the business was passed down to the children. After years of research and many pots of braised pork ribs later, I can proudly say my version is pretty close to that and the secret is the addition of both cumin and coriander powder. Don't be alarmed - just think five spice powder or *Teochew lor duck! Cook a bigger batch as it will taste even better the next day, just like any other stew! My new blogger friend Mr. Noodles from London should be quiet happy with this I think. 
*Teochew lor duck is a braised duck dish using a soy based stock with a selection of spices.


serves 4
for the braised pork you'll need;
1kg of pork ribs, blanched and drained
4 tbs of rock sugar, bashed or white sugar can be used
2 start anise
2 tbs of cumin powder
2 tbs of coriander powder
a knob of ginger, bashed
3 cloves of garlic
2 spring onions
1/2 cup of soy
1/3 cup of dark soy
3 tbs of caramel sauce
3 cups of water or stock

you'll also need;
1 bunch of choysum, cut and blanched
1.5 fresh egg noddles /person
sesame oil
white pepper
* cook noodles in batches; first place the loosen noodles into a pot of boiling water and cook for 30 seconds, remove noodles and rinse in a big pot/bowl of cold water (very important stage) then return the noodles to the boiling water again. Cook for a further minute or til al dante, it should have quite a bite to it.

With a little oil fry rock sugar til you get a light caramel sauce then place ginger, garlic, spring onions and star anise together with the stock in a pot, bring it to a boil.

Add blanched pork pieces and seasonings, simmer for 2 hours. Skim impurities from time to time.

After 2 hours the pork pieces will be falling off the bones, check for seasonings and thicken with a little corn flour solution if the sauce is too thin.

Place cooked noodles in a bowl/plate, add some blanched choysum and ladle some pork ribs and sauce over. Have plenty of cut chilies and chili oil on the side of course!

This is the deluxe version I had the next day with some extra wontons :) The only thing missing is some pickled green chilies.

44 comments:

  1. The deluxe version looks better.

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  2. Oh I can't tell you how much I love this dish! I have some 'lu dai' can I use that instead of the spice powder? The deluxe version is even better!

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  3. WOW! This is really superb delicious! I will bookmark it and make after the CNY. Now really busy! busy!...

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  4. It's 10:30pm on Saturday night. I'm starving and now even more! This looks wonderful.

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  5. i love braised pork !! especially with just plain jasmine rice!

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  6. Noodles are always a favourite!!!

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  7. U can open a Chiu Chow noodle restaurant in Hong Kong!

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  8. Haddock,
    Haha u r greedy!

    KL girl in MELB ,
    Oh thank you, the lu dai is good n might be even better :)

    Anncoo ,
    Thanks remember to send some cookies over ;0

    Michael,
    Oh I'm so so sorry why were u up so late? :)

    Ann,
    With rice will be just as good :)

    zurin,
    oh u r a noodle queen then haha!

    Kenny,
    Haha it will to too greasy and too much work :)

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  9. your pork looks caramelized and I like that !!cheers from Pierre in Paris

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  10. What a great recipe and thanks for the mention ! This looks better than most stuff you can buy. It's the spare ribs that take me back to my childhood and I am dreaming of the aroma of star anise. Back then we used to eat these kind of ribs with rice as san mein was something we only ate in Chinatown. Besides it wasn't always that easy to get san mein in Northern England in the 19XX's.

    Your best recipe yet and a great accompaniment to the mighty san mein !

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  11. That looks like the one I had in HK. Cool ! The braised pork ribs really tasty.

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  12. Can I really send cookies to Australia??

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  13. Pierre ,
    Oh Thank you!

    Mr Noodles,
    Thats ok it's 禮上往來 if you do read chinese, thank you very much!
    We are very lucky here in Melbourne to be able to get most ingredients for Asian cooking.

    NyonyaChef,
    Thank you so much! Try it tell me if it taste the same :)

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  14. Anncoo,
    I think it is ok if it hasn't got animal products in it :)

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  15. OMG I can't tell you how hungry that made me... dribbling at my desk is not attractive!!

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  16. AWW I just returned after a very big meal and this is making me hungry again! I love the extra wontons too!

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  17. wanna ask u one question! are they anymore leftovers??? waaahhhh.... suddenly my stomach growling when i looked at the last pic.. real tempting post! hahahaa....

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  18. 好久沒吃排骨麵了,看得我口水直流!

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  19. OK:) just send me your address & email address to my blog. (Don't worry your address will not show to the public)

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  20. I have said it before and I will say it again: You're a fantastic cook! This looks so hearty and delicious!

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  21. Wow.... this is such a great dish! You always make me hungry.. hehe

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  22. oh what a coincidence, I just made braised beef with egg noodles! Yours look so good! The addition of ground cumin and coriander is interesting, will try this!

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  23. Eternally Distracted ,
    Oops sorry ! haha!

    Tricia F,
    Oh you are a little greedy too!

    reanaclaire ,
    Oh I should have cooked a lot more! Haha! Thanks!

    大肥 ,
    哈哈!謝謝!

    Ju,
    Oh thank you so much! :)

    mycookinghut ,
    Haha thanks! I'm so happy to hear that!

    Cicily,
    Thanks! :)

    Saveurs et Gourmandises,
    MERCI!

    pigpigscorner ,
    It is a coincidence! :) Thank you! Give it a try and tell me what you think :)

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  24. I have never tried using this noodles at home, thanks to the noodle cooking tips! I want a bowl of this for my lunch :)

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  25. Great dish! I think I need 2 noodles with the extra wontons too!

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  26. That looks bloody amazing! Strangely, I've never thought of pairing red cooked meat with noodles, usually opting for rice instead.

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  27. That is such a comforting dish for me! I bought some mince so I'm going to make zhajiangmian first! wish me luck!

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  28. Wow look at that. All my favorite seasonings. Coriander, cumin, etc. This has to be good so I'm saving it! Thanks.

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  29. oh jeez that looks amazing, i love spare ribs and noodles

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  30. Another wonderful dish from you, this will be just as good with some rice!

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  31. OMG...you are a wonderful cook..every time I come I get to enjoy a feast, at least virtually...:D

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  32. Hey another tempting dish buddy! We are having the chicken broth today! Cheers buddy!

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  33. This is just soooo iresistible LOL! The way you presented it just so seducing. haha.... Truely mouthwatering.

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  34. I'm very hungry now looking at this! All those pork pieces with gravy over the noodles just look so irresistibly good...mmmm

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  35. This looks so so so so good! Some angles- it looks like braised beef brisket noodles....so professionally done.

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  36. I love red cooked dishes with noodles, it looks divine darling!

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  37. CW,
    It is great once you master the art of cooking it which is not difficult at all :)

    LMH,
    Haha I used to eat 2 noodles too but 1.5 is almost too much these days :)

    Su-Lin ,
    Thank you! They are wonderful together so give it a try :)

    CUMI & CIKI ,
    Haha thanks!

    rosa,
    Thanks let me know about how your zhajiangmien turn out :)

    Sook,
    Thank you very much :)

    Claire,
    thanks! they are good together :)

    Yasmin,
    Thanks! It is just as good with rice!

    Gulmohar ,
    Oh thank you so much! I'm glad you managed to taste it visually :)

    fitzboy,
    Hey thanks buddy! Did it turn out well?

    My Little Space ,
    Haha thank you very much :)

    Mary,
    Thanks Mary I wish I had cooked more :(

    tigerfish,
    Thanks! Brisket was my plan but very happy with the ribs too

    love to eat,
    Thank you very much :) Do try it ok!

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  38. Thank-you, I don't cook traditional Chinese food very often as I was never really taught but I followed your recipe and brought it to a "country of origin pot luck. It was delicious and I got so many comments from everybody! I will definitely be cooking it again :)

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  39. Steph,
    Oh I'm so happy to hear that! Your comment makes my day!

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  40. Mmmm...looks so good and yummy.
    I'm going to try this. Meantime, if there's any leftover, do send over :-D

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  41. Just found your blog and will be bookmarking loads of these posts!

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