HK-Style Claypot Rice with Spareribs
Ingredients
Rice (long grain Thai rice preferred) - 2 rice cooker measuring cups / 1.5 American cups / 360mL
Water
Oil
Short spare ribs, 1-inch pieces - 1LB / 500g
Green onion - 1 piece
Spare ribs marinade
Garlic, minced - 4 cloves
Fermented black beans - 1 tbsp
Oil - 1 tbsp
Soy sauce - 2 tbsp
Oyster sauce - 1 tbsp
Shaoxing wine - 1 tbsp
Grated ginger - 1 tsp
Sesame oil - 1/2 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
White pepper
Starch (potato or corn) - 2 tsp
Sauce
Soy sauce - 3 tbsp
Dark soy sauce - 1 tbsp
Oyster sauce - 1 tbsp
Sugar - 1 tbsp
Sesame oil - 1/2 tbsp
Method
Spare ribs prep + marinade
Cut short spare ribs into 1-inch pieces.
Soak ribs in plenty of cold water for at least 30 minutes, if not longer.
Remove the ribs from water (the blood is at the bottom of bowl so lift out the meat rather than pouring the water out so you’re not just dumping the blood over the meat again). Rinse in clean water. Pat dry.
In a dry pan, heat garlic in oil over low heat until fragrant. Add fermented black beans and stir fry until fragrant.
In a clean bowl, combine dry ribs, the garlic bean mixture and all the other marinade ingredients save for the starch. Mix well and let marinate for at least 30 min and up to a few hours.
After marinating, sprinkle on the starch and massage in / mix well.
Sauce
In a small pot / butter warmer, combine all ingredients, heat until it starts to bubble and sugar is all dissolved.
Set aside to cool and reserve for serving.
Assembly
Wash and rinse rice until the water runs clear. In the very first rinse, do not wash too vigorously and drain the water immediately into the sink. Keep washing and draining a few more times. I like doing so in a strainer and a bowl that the strainer fits in. After the last rinse, let the rice drain as dry as possible.
In a claypot or cast iron braiser that has a tight fitting lid, add the drained rice and ~80% of its volume in water (290 - 300 mL)
Over medium-high heat and constantly stirring, cook the rice until most of the water has been absorbed.
Reduce heat to low.
Drizzle oil around the edge of the pan and let it seep down to the bottom. Swirl the pan around a bit to distribute more evenly. (Careful, the handles can be really hot!)
Pile ribs into the pan in an even layer. Put the lid on and let the whole thing steam-cook for about 30-40 minutes (this largely depends on how much meat you add. I did about 35 minutes with the 1LB of ribs I used)
After that time, turn off the heat, leave lid on and let it steam for another 10 minutes.
Put on top some chopped green onions.
Drizzle on the sauce to taste (Depending on how much of the marinade juices you also put in the pan, you may not need)
Serve hot in the pan with a stiff spatula to scrape the crispy rice off the bottom!