Guizhou Ribs馋嘴排骨chán zuǐ pái gǔ

The satisfying spicy ribs just crumbled off the bone, and with all of those savory seasonings as an added bonus. It is inspired by a trademark dish from Three Guizhou Men, my all-time favorite restaurant in Beijing that offers authentic Guizhou Cuisine. Guizhou Province borders Sichuan thus is similar in that the food is spicy. Unlike Sichuan food though, it does not prominently feature those numbing peppercorns. The food tends to be mildly sour instead.

 Serves 4-6,  

• 1500g   pork spareribs 整条猪肋排

Seasoning paste

• 1 tablespoon                           coriander seeds香菜籽
• 1 tablespoon                           white peppercorns (or use the same amount of white peppercorn powder)白胡椒粒或者白胡椒粉
• 1 teaspoon                               salt
• 1 tablespoon                           light soy sauce生抽
• ½ tablespoon                          dark soy sauce老抽
• 10 – 12 cloves                         garlic, peeled
• 1 cup                                       fresh coriander stems and roots, minced香菜梗
• 2 tablespoons                         Chinese cooking wine
• 1 tablespoon                           cooking oil

Toppings

• 1 tablespoon                           Cooking Oil
• 8-10                                           mix of green and red chili, cut into small pieces
• 3 tablespoons                         Fermented Black Beans干豆豉
• 2 tablespoon                           Seasonings made as indicated above
• 1 tablespoon                           light soy sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon                         sugar
• ½ cup                                        water
• 3 tablespoon                           unsalted peanuts, toasted and roughly chopped
• 1 cup                                         Coriander leaves, roughly chopped, for garnishing

Method

Make the seasoning paste

1. Wash the ribs and pat dry with paper kitchen towel. To make the meat absorb the seasonings better, you can use a sharp knife to remove the membrane from the back side of the ribs. Line up a baking try with aluminum foil. Place the ribs on top of the tray.
2. Let’s make the seasoning paste. Place the peeled garlic, coriander seeds, peppercorn seeds, fresh coriander stems and roots, soy sauce, salt and Chinese cooking wine in an electric blender. Pulse until finely minced.
   

   

Marinate the ribs

4. Now let’s coat the ribs with the two tablespoons of the seasoning paste, then drizzle 1 tablespoon of  cooking oil on top of the ribs. The oil helps lock the moisture of the meat when it is cooking in the oven. Cover the ribs completely with another layer of the aluminum foil. Place the baking tray in the middle rack of the oven. Set aside for about 60 minutes.
   

   

Grill the Ribs

5. Turn the oven on and bring it up to 180C°. And bake for 2 – 2.5 hours till the bones are exposed. The slow cook time ensures the seasoning flavours are to be very absorbed by the ribs.
6. Remove the aluminum foil on the top of the tray. Bake the ribs for another 30 minutes (no need to cover the ribs). The ribs are ready to serve when it is nearly falling off the bone.

Cook the toppings

7. Place a sauce pan on the stove. Add one tablespoon of cooking oil over low medium heat, add chopped chili peppers and stir fry for a few minutes, add into 3 tablespoons of fermented black bean, stir fry for another 2-3 minutes, add into 2 tablespoons of seasoning paste, 1 tablespoon soy sauce, ½ tablespoon of sugar, 1 tablespoon of light soy sauce and ½ cup of water. Once it starts boiling, turn off the heat. The toppings is done.
   

   

   
8. Place the ribs on a serving plate. Arrange toppings and peanuts. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves.
   

   

Cook notes

1. The seasoning paste can be made ahead and refrigerated for two weeks.
2. You can always make large quantity of the slow cooked ribs ahead of time (until step 5) and store it in the fridge or freezer. When ready to use, just place the desired amount of ribs and bake another 30 minutes then add freshly cooked toppings.