sweet and sour spare ribs

Hope everyone is having an awesome Labor Day holiday enjoying it with friends, family, drinks and good food. As for me, my Labor Day was filled with polar entities, chemical bonds, drug metabolism and a cup of coffee all bound together with a good friend at Cups. Surprisingly, today didn't completely suck like I was thought it'd be and it was actually a pretty fun day. Probably the high from Ming's BBQ last night topped off by delicious pastries from Maum Bakery.

This is the 2nd part of my pork spare rib post from last week. For the second sauce, I decided to go sweet and sour after I saw a recipe from Jaden's Steamy Kitchen. Her website has become one of my favorites recently with great pictures, stories and recipes. I suggest following her on Twitter as she tweets some of the most random and hilarious things throughout the day.

If you must have one Chinese recipe in your repertoire, this has to be one of them. The flavors are married beautifully and the soy sauce with the dark vinegar give the ribs a beautiful color. Another successful recipe from Steamy Kitchen and one that I'll carry with me for the rest of my life.

Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs
Adapted from Steamy Kitchen, Originally from Fushia Dunlop's Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook: Recipes from Hunan Province

Ingredients: (Braise)
- 2lbs pork spareribs, cut into individual ribs
- 3 cloves of garlic, crushed with skin
- 2 bay leaves
- 10 black peppercorns, whole
- 1 inch ginger, crushed

1) Place the ribs in a stockpot and fill with water until submerged. Bring water up to a boil and then add the rest of the ingredients. Reduce the heat to a simmer and boil pork ribs gently for 15 minutes.
2) Skim off the scum that accumulates about 10 minutes in. We'll be using the stock later on.
3) Using a tong or slotted spoon, remove the ribs to a plate and reserve the stock.

Ingredients: (Sauce)
- 2 tablespoons of high heat cooking oil
- 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
- 4 tablespoons white sugar
- 1.5 tablespoons Chinese black vinegar or balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 3 green onions, cut into 2 inch sections
- 1 inch ginger, sliced into 0.5 inch coins and smashed
- 1 cup reserved stock

4) In a hot wok or frying pan, add the oil and saute the green onions and ginger until fragrant. About 30 seconds.
5) Add in the spare ribs and coat with the fragrant oil for about 2 minutes.
6) Add 1 cup of the reserved stock, soy sauce and sugar. Simmer over medium heat until the sauce has reduced to a syrupy consistency. Spoon the sauce over the pork to flavor and color.
7) Add vinegar and cook for another 1 - 2 minutes.
8) Take off the heat and stir in the sesame oil. Garnish with fresh green onions if desired.
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I'll be posting the pork recipe that I used my Saucy Mama marinade with (thanks again Em!) sometime this week. Getting tired of pork posts? I'll be changing it up with a rustic chicken dish later on and I also got my hands on a pumpkin (!!!!!) so don't fret.

How did you guys spend your Labor Day holiday and what amazing foods did you consume?