Sugar and Vinegar Pork Ribs: Layered Flavors for a Rich Culinary Experience
Sugar and Vinegar Pork Ribs
Zhou Zhongying
I used to think sugar and vinegar pork ribs weren't Hunan cuisine because Hunan cuisine is characterized by spiciness, while sugar and vinegar pork ribs are both sweet and sour. Later I realized, 'sugar and vinegar' has become a popular flavor in various cuisines of China.
In Hunan cuisine, 'sugar and vinegar' flavor is different from other cuisines. Traditionally, the sugar and vinegar sauce is made with sugar, vinegar, tomato paste, etc. as the main ingredients. However, the chefs of Hunan cuisine often add chili (or chili sauce, red oil), garlic, five-spice powder, flower oil, pineapple juice, orange juice, ginger juice, cream, plum sauce, OK juice, etc. In this way, the sugar and vinegar sauce has added a lot of flavor to the sugar and vinegar dishes.
I'm not a real chef, but I've been 'taught' about delicious sugar and vinegar pork ribs. To learn how to make this dish, you first need to master the basic skills of making sugar and vinegar sauce. The key to making sugar and vinegar sauce is to master the proportions of sugar, vinegar and salt. If any of these is out of balance, the taste of the dish will be unfavorable. The master told me that in general, the sugar and vinegar sauce tastes sweet first, then sour, then with a bit of spiciness, and finally with saltiness. This is the sense of layering of flavors. If you add five-spice flavor, chili flavor, or other ingredients, the layering of flavors will change. But the sweet and sour taste will still be the first, followed by spiciness, five-spice flavor, chili flavor, or other flavors, and finally saltiness.
Cooking is really like writing or taking photos. Essays also require layering and gradually increasing. Photography requires three-dimensionality, giving the picture layering. The three-dimensionality of the photo depends on the visual focus, lines, perspective and light and shadow. These elements form different geometric spaces, layers and airiness in the picture. Writing also needs to show layering and three-dimensionality in terms of description, emotion and theme.
Photos and articles with three-dimensionality can touch people's hearts and make them exclaim. Delicious dishes also cannot lack three-dimensionality, so that tasters can discern the layers of flavors and make the nerves of the taste buds tremble. Sugar and vinegar pork ribs fully demonstrate the sense of flavor layering.
Let me demonstrate how to make sugar and vinegar pork ribs for you. Take 500g of pork ribs, blanch them and boil for 30 minutes. The broth can be used to make noodles, don't discard it. Then add one tablespoon of (liao jiu - ), one tablespoon of (sheng chou - - soy sauce), half tablespoon of (la chou - - dark soy sauce), two tablespoons of fragrant vinegar for marinating for 20 minutes. Time is important. Then take out, wash and drain. Prepare for frying. Frying golden brown, don't add too much oil, just keep turning to make it crisp. Then in the pot, put the marinated pork ribs, add the marinade, three tablespoons of sugar, half a bowl of meat broth, boil, add a half teaspoon of salt to enhance the flavor. Then, small fire for 10 minutes, then large fire to reduce the sauce. When reducing the sauce, add a tablespoon of fragrant vinegar at the end, so that the sweet and sour flavor comes out. Finally, sprinkle with chopped scallions, sesame seeds, and a little MSG when out of the pot. Of course, Hunan cuisine also adds chili sauce to increase spiciness.
There are three small tips to make good sugar and vinegar pork ribs. First, how to achieve the effect of crispy outside and tender inside. Remember to boil for 30 minutes, so that it will be crispy when frying over a large fire. If you fry raw pork ribs directly, it will be tough. Second, why marinate. Hot pot and hot oil quickly seal the outside of the meat, making it difficult for the sugar and vinegar sauce to be absorbed. Pork ribs have a meat smell. Third, how to fry pork ribs well. Use a large fire to quickly heat up. Since it has been boiled for 30 minutes, it has already matured, so just ensure that the outside is crispy. Remember these tips, you will definitely make sugar and vinegar pork ribs that warm your stomach and win the heart of the person you like.
Cooking is like doing things, no matter what you do, you need to fully invest and grasp every detail. A person needs to reflect different levels in doing things, the layering of a person is the taste of a person, a person with taste, a person with connotation, you will radiate personal charm.
Written on February 15, 2020, at the home of Special Steel Material Bureau in Shenyang
