Sweet and Sour Pork with Ginger (for Confinement)
Soup Name:
Sweet and Sour Pork with Ginger (for Chinese Confinement)
Traditional Chinese Name:
糖醋排骨 (táng cù páigǔ)
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This is another one of those great recipes that are handed down through generations. I got this from an Auntie who is an amazing cook and simplified this recipe so that it’s so simple and yet, tastes so good! You can use a variety of rib cuts – I’ve made it with the traditional Chinese spare ribs cut (pictured here), but also made it using baby back ribs, too. When I make this, I use the measurements as a base, but adjust it as it cooks. I know some people prefer it sweeter or more sour or more salty, so definitely sample your cooking as you go!
For this recipe, I will use a fatter cut of meat. This is because it stews for quite some time and you don’t want the pork to dry out and shrivel up into dried pork. Over time, the fat will come out and you can simply scoop it out before consumption.
I will also rinse the pork in warm water when I get them from the vendor (just in case). Then throw it into a stainless steel pot and follow this simple base for recipe. It’s basically 1-2-3 (tablespoons).
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
2 tablespoons of sugar (any type)
3 tablespoons of white vinegar
And then you proportion it out appropriately. So for the amount picture above, which is around 1 pound of spare ribs, I multiplied by 3, so I got 3 tablespoons of soy sauce, 6 tablespoons of sugar, and 9 tablespoons of white vinegar. If you want, you can add a quarter cup of water for good measure. For confinement, my recommendation is to load up on ginger. This can be ginger slices, ginger cubes, the whole ginger, grated ginger, ginger juice – however spicy you can take it, do it. Optional ingredients also include whole garlic, black or white pepper and even star anise.
What’s involved?
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 30+ mins (checking every 10 mins based on softness of meat and viscosity of the sauce)
Total time: 40+ mins
Serves: 1 large bowl
Ingredients
- 1 pound of fresh spare ribs or pork ribs
- 1 x 3 = 3 tablespoons of soy sauce
- 2 x 3 = 6 tablespoons of sugar
- 3 x 3 = 9 tablespoons of white vinegar
- 1-inch root of fresh ginger
- 1/4 cup of water
Instructions
- Rinse your spare ribs or pork ribs in warm water (to clean)
- Put all the ingredients into a stainless steel pot (or clay pot)
- Boil on high heat for 10 minutes
- Reduce to a low simmer for another hour, checking every 10 minutes on taste and whether it is drying out too much. If so, add another quarter cup of water.
- Remove oil and serve
A selection of confinement Chinese Soups
What is confinement and confinement stories
Baby 5 & 6 Confinement story
Some confinement foods for your tummy!
The DO's and DON'T's of confinement
Can you use crockpot to cook this?
Dear Bentley – absolutely. Actually, you can use a crock pot for all Chinese soups recipes. They are ideal because the Chinese actually prefer the ceramic pots over the metal ones (which I use a lot). G’luck! Lisa