Braised Spare Ribs & Bitter Gourd in Bean Sauce ( 苦瓜焖排骨)
My mum is a housewife and I was brought up at home with tonnes of home cooked food. Internet sometimes gives you good recipes, but my mum gives me the BEST ones. I didn't inherit my mum's cooking skills or recipes when I was in Malaysia. Now that I am stranded in the US, I have to learn to cook all those yummylicious food that I crave for (thank you Skype!). My mum uses the "agak-agak" way of cooking, and so sometimes it is very difficult for me to determine the exact amount of ingredients. Oh well, like she said agak-agak lah!
Slice the bitter gourd into 2 inch long 1/2 inch wide strips. You can cut it any way you want it. This shape of bitter gourd brings back fond memories of my mum's cooking.
First, stir fry the bitter gourd with some oil on high heat. This helps to keep their shape well when you braise it later on.
You don't have to stir fry the bitter gourd for too long. When they are slightly charred (& half cooked), they are done.
Stir fry the onions, followed by garlic, spare ribs and dried chilis.
Add some water until the spare ribs are covered by water.
Keep the cover on and braised them for 20 minutes.
Then, add in the half cooked bitter gourd and braised them for another 20 minutes.
Add in some sugar, salt and sweet soy sauce to taste. I added approximately 3 teaspoons of sugar, a pinch of salt and 2 teaspoons of sweet soy sauce.
Keep the cover on and braised them for 20 minutes.
Then, add in the half cooked bitter gourd and braised them for another 20 minutes.
Add in some sugar, salt and sweet soy sauce to taste. I added approximately 3 teaspoons of sugar, a pinch of salt and 2 teaspoons of sweet soy sauce.
I love my mum's version of braised spare ribs and bitter gourd because of the added dried chilis. It gives a spicy kick on top of the bitter, sweet and savory taste. Thumbs up to my mum's recipe :)