unDumbing

I found a recipe for spare ribs that not only resulted in flavorful and soft meat, but a nicely sweetened sauce. If only the sauce consistently stuck to the ribs!

Below are some links to more details, including photos:

• My Story
• Inspiring Recipe
  • First Try
    • Ingredients to Use
    • Steps to Prepare
    • Time to Eat
    • Recipe Rating
  • Second Try
    • Ingredients to Use
    • Steps to Prepare
    • Time to Eat
    • Recipe Rating
• Continuous Improvement
• Lesson for Dumber Self
• Next Step for You

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My Story

When I made sweet and sour spare ribs from a recipe for the first time, I enjoyed the sauce, but wanted to find another recipe that provided steps on marinating the ribs before cooking them. As a result, I went online.

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Inspiring Recipe

The recipe that appeared to accomplish my goal was Chinese Braised Spare Ribs from Kwokspots, a food blog.

First Try

After saving the recipe for over a year, I finally decided to try it when spare ribs were on sale.

Ingredients to Use

With 3.24 pounds of ribs, I had to increase the remaining ingredients listed on the recipe. In regards to the sesame seeds, I decided to forgo them, since I didn’t want to buy something that I hardly used.

Here are the amounts that I included for the remaining ingredients:

1. 5 1/2 tablespoons + 1 1/8 teaspoons of brown sugar
2. 2 1/2 tablespoons + 1 1/3 teaspoons of water (to melt the sugar)
3. 2 1/2 tablespoons + 1 1/3 teaspoons of soy sauce
4. 1 tablespoon + 1 1/3 teaspoons + 1/8 teaspoon of dark soy sauce
5. 2 tablespoons + 2/3 teaspoon of Shaoxing (Shaohsing) rice wine
6. 2 tablespoons + 2/3 teaspoon of rice vinegar
7. 5 ounces + 1 1/2 tablespoons + 3/4 teaspoon of water
8. 3 scallions
9. 3 slices of ginger
10. 6 cloves of crushed garlic
11. 2 scallions* (for the garnish)

*Not only did I use the green parts, I also added the white parts to avoid waste.

Steps to Prepare

Aside from the modifications already mentioned above and the omission of the first step, I followed the remaining six steps in the instructions as written. For Step 1, since the ribs were individually pre-cut, I left them as they were. Also, in Step 6, I followed the recommendation of waiting 10 minutes for the sauce to thicken.

Time to Eat

Here’s a plate of ribs ready to be served!

Recipe Rating

Below were the results of the recipe after the first try:

# of Ingredients	Effort	$ / Serving	Try Again?
10 *		**

The spare ribs were lightly sweetened with no trace of sourness. In addition, the meat was tender.

Second Try

For the second attempt, I wanted to repeat the outcome that I had during the first try.

Ingredients to Use

For the second round, I had a slightly heavier tray of spare ribs, weighing 3.58 pounds, so I used the following for the rest of the ingredients:

1. 6 1/2 tablespoons of brown sugar
2. 3 tablespoons + 3/4 teaspoon + 1/8 teaspoon of water (to melt the sugar)
3. 3 tablespoons + 3/4 teaspoon + 1/8 teaspoon of soy sauce
4. 1 1/2 tablespoons + 1/3 teaspoon of dark soy sauce
5. 2 tablespoons + 1 1/3 teaspoons of Shaoxing (Shaohsing) rice wine
6. 2 tablespoons + 1 1/3 teaspoons of rice vinegar
7. 6 ounces + 1/2 tablespoon + 1 1/3 teaspoons + 1/8 teaspoon of water
8. 4 scallions
9. 4 slices of ginger
10. 7 cloves of crushed garlic
11. 2 scallions (for the garnish)

Steps to Prepare

For the process, I kept it the same as the first round.

Time to Eat

I couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into the ribs!

Recipe Rating

Below are the results of the recipe from the second attempt:

# of Ingredients	Effort	$ / Serving	Try Again?
10 *		**

Although the tender ribs still tasted good, the sauce was not as sticky as before, so less flavor stayed on the meat.

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I would like to braise some spare ribs again, but will try to thicken the sauce by doing the following:

Continuous Improvement

1. Remove the ribs in Step 6.
2. Add corn starch to the sauce using the method highlighted in the article, 13 Ways How to Thicken BBQ Sauce, from website, BBQ Hero.
3. Return the ribs to the wok and coat them in the thickened sauce.

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Because the sauce didn’t come out as expected during the second try, I learned the following that I would like to share with my younger self:

Lesson for Dumber Self

1. Piece together the information that you have, so you can figure out what questions to ask next.

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What will you do now?

Next Step for You

1. Try the recipe, Chinese Braised Spare Ribs, from Kwokspots, a food blog?
2. Share your favorite sweet braised spare rib recipe?
3. Read another post on this site? (Go to the menu at the top of the page.)

It’s your choice!