Ok. I'd say the flavor s about 90% of D Sh D. But I couldn't really say what would make it 100%. The biggest difference in the D Sh D and mine was the texture. Mine where moister - and while you'd think that was good, I actually preferred the somewhat dry D Sh D ribs. Theirs were just about fall off the bone tender - mine were fall off the bone. I used St. Louis style spareribs. Braised for 2 hours, plus 30 minutes standing in the liquid at the end. Maybe I should have braised for 90 minutes. Like the recipe says, you need to cool the ribs in the fridge. I think it would probably be better to braise them one day and finish them the next, this way the ribs have a chance to chill totally and firm up some, and be easier to handle. I think key to making them closer to D Sh D is during the deep frying step - they need to get a bark/crust on them for sure. Doing that also helps them hold together. The recipe calls for 3 rack of ribs. There is no way the recipe for the marinade and the spice "rub" is enough for 3 racks of ribs. I think you'd need 3 to 4 times the amounts for that many ribs. What I'll do different next time: 1. Braise for 90 minutes instead of 2 hours. Braise the day before. 2. Fry the ribs 4-5 at a time so they can lay on the bottom of the wok and develop a crust. 3. Quadruple the marinade and spice rub amounts. 4. More red pepper flakes than the recipe calls for. There was just a small hint of heat. The D Sh D heat level was low too, but I'd rather have a little more. 4. Chop up everything way ahead of time. There is a lot of chopped garlic and some ginger. They were really, really good - but they ended up being one of those things where you had spent so much time making them it was a little anti-climactic.
I think I'm going to become a cumin seed/red pepper flake/garlic/ginger addict. I'm thinking grilled chicken breasts finished off in a wok with the spice mix. I'm also thinking of quickly stir frying the spice mix (like the recipe calls for) and then rolling a hot buttered ear of corn on the cob in it. I might try that tomorrow. BTW, that Shaoxing wine is no joke.
Fair grounds hot dogs for lunch. I go to Lynden often. Grocery stores in Lynden are just as close to me as the stores in Canada. One strip mall I drive by all the time, but have never checked it out. Yesterday, we did and found a little BBQ place. Not awesome but not bad either. https://www.zomato.com/bellingham-wa/dickeys-barbecue-pit-lynden/menu?utm_campaign=GoogleMenus&utm_medium=Local&utm_source=Google Had the rib plate mac and cheese and fries.
So I reheated the 7 other ribs I had leftover for lunch. Now we are getting real close. 97% D Sh D. A little firmer. A little drier, a little crispier. Eager to hear from Wayne. I'm betting his turns out better than mine because of his far better wok skills and understanding.
Thanks for sharing! I have my ribs braising now. I have a pretty good idea how to develop flavors, so I'm not much for strictly adhering to recipes when I feel they could use improvement. I could tell the braising liquid wasn't going to be flavorful enough for all those ribs, so I doubled down on the garlic, ginger, and shallot and added some crushed red pepper. Then, instead of braising in the stock pot for an hour or two, I loaded the ribs into the pressure cooker, covered them with the boiling braising liquid, and now have them going at high pressure for 30 minutes. This way I'll have them in the fridge and nicely chilled by time to prepare dinner.
Thanks! It wasn't too bad! I picked up one of these last week and have been playing with it ever since. https://store.anovaculinary.com/products/anova-precision-cooker-wifi As for the steak above, I just tossed a strip steak in a ziploc with some pepper and soy sauce, put it in the water for two hours @ 129F and then hit it with a torch for a few seconds. Very easy and nearly impossible to screw up. I'm pretty pleased with my first go at it. I poached a couple of eggs this morning and they were incredible. Something magical happens to an egg at 167F! Image Unavailable, Please Login
Okay, while my first attempt rendered a far-from-perfect result, I think it helped set the stage for future perfection. Things that went right and wrong: Wrong: The butcher in the Chinese market made a mess out of my ribs. I know how Chinese people usually cut ribs (crosswise) and that this butcher is accustomed to cutting them that way, so I very clearly told him I wanted them cut into individual ribs instead. He even repeated it. When I got home and unwrapped them, I found I had a few full-length ribs and a bunch of odd strips that were cut on an angle, some with two bones and some with none at all. Of course, this is what I get for being lazy. Fortunately, despite the odd cuts, the ribs were still perfectly usable. Even so, I'll just trim and cut the ribs myself next time. Wrong: The 30 minute braise in the pressure cooker may have been perfect, but I was called away on an emergency and by the time I got back to the kitchen, the ribs had been sitting in the liquid on "keep warm" mode for an additional 30 minutes. They were falling off the bone as I was trying to extract them from the cooker. Right: I deep fried the ribs in small batches, so they were able to develop a nice outer crust. This also firmed the meat up again and totally negated the over-braising issue. I gave them a taste and was very happy with the result at this stage - golden, crispy exterior, firm but juicy interior, and plenty of flavor from the braising liquid. Despite the oddly-cut ribs, we were looking good so far! Wrong: But in the end, the garlic was too browned for my taste. The recipe calls for a quick stir fry on the garlic/ginger/chilis/cumin seeds at high heat, then throwing in the ribs and cooking everything together while seasoning with salt, then adding scallions and quickly tossing together (still over high heat), and only then removing from them from the heat and stirring in the sesame oil. The problem here is the amount of time the garlic spends in the hot oil. This was even compounded in my case by the fact that I was working with batches of ribs and little browned bits of garlic remained in the bottom of my wok the whole time. The wife and kids loved this (they like the browned, crunchy garlic thing anyway), but it was a bit much for me. Next time, I'll do a quick fry on the garlic/ginger/chili/cumin mix and immediately remove it from the wok. Then I'll toss the ribs and the mix together in a mixing bowl, along with the scallions, salt, and sesame oil, and serve. There's just no need to continue cooking everything once the mix is perfectly hot and fragrant. Could be better: Also, next time more cumin and chilis! In the end, the ribs were tasty (the family loved them), but there was plenty of room for improvement in my opinion. But I have to say, immediately following the deep fry, there was something magical in the making here! My next attempt (probably next weekend) will be: - properly trimmed and cut ribs (done myself) - double down on aromatics in the braising liquid again - a strict 30 minute braise in the pressure cooker - deep fried in small batches again - more chili and cumin seeds in the coating mix, as well as added Sichuan peppercorn (I'm just crazy about the chili/cumin/Sichuan peppercorn combo) - use of a mixing bowl to toss ribs in coating mix On top of this, the wife and kids thought incorporating a slightly sweet and spicy glaze into the coating would have been perfect. I'm less into sweet than they are, but I totally see their point, so next time I'm going to do half with the glaze and half without. I selected some of the better-cut ribs for this pic. Most of the others were twice as large as these, but were ungainly cut and so not very photogenic. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Had a fun Mothers Day. My younger brother and I, we took my Mother out for Italian. Her request. As I said typical west coast. Authentic Italian is rare. We took her a nice place named after the Italian owner. Umberto's. As a kid in suburbia, you don't go into downtown Vancouver much. I had a few doctors and orthodontist appointments near downtown, I was about 13. After my Mom would let me pick restaurants for dinner. Since we didn't go into town much, I only knew a few restaurants. Umberto was on TV a lot locally. So I often said lets go there. I did think about having dinner there with just my Mom and I, way back 31 years ago. She was younger then I'm now back in those days. Wow time flies by.
What a great memory. We'd eat or maybe once a year, usually on mom's birthday, growing up. Joy King in Brooklyn. Chinese food was very exotic to me back then. Loved those red spare ribs. The fortune cookie. Etc...T
That looks DAMN nice & tasty. I don't have pics, but did my 2nd batch of sous vide steaks last night - NY Strips done for 2 hours at 128 degrees with an Anova unit, then seared on the grill. Was Deee-lish, but I still want to back the temp down for something between rare & medium rare. Me? I'd be okay with raw, but seared outsides, and my wife doesn't like much more than pink. Can you give more info as to your time & temp in water bath?
Two hours at 129 F, I think it was. Post # 3613. Think it got lost amidst all those mouth watering pics of Hunan spareribs. T
Thanks! That was done for two hours at 129 but I think I'm going to scale the next one back to 127 or 128 and see if its a bit better. How are they after searing on the grill? I'd assume it has to be done pretty quickly? I hit this with a torch for just a couple seconds afterwards and was pleased with the outcome. Also, like I mentioned above, I encourage you to try a sous vide egg!
Yeah, it was kind of neat. Having two brothers, it was rare to have one on one time with either parent. Hence I remember going there with her. Other then doctors or dentist appointments, basically didn't alone time until my younger brother turned 16. Now wish we had more.
OK, pseudo-random question for our Hunan sparerib gurus - does cumin seed taste anything like cumin? My wife hates the taste of cumin. I don't get it, she's a San Antonio gal, and doesn't like cumin...T
