Work has been super busy the last few weeks so I’ve wanted quicker meals but then again, my husband has also been even busier with lack of sleep and skipped lunches so I want him to have a good home cooked meal for dinner. I am not trying to be old fashion with being the wife that makes warm dinners – we’re both busy at work but I am just a little bit less busy. And, the stereotypical old fashion way isn’t always wrong. He does the dishes on these type of days. And, hopefully, when I’m busier than him though, he’ll feed me!
But right now, I want fancy home cooked meals that aren’t as time consuming as they look. During work when I have a few minutes of break (time to hide and surf the web) I’ve been scouring the internet and found another great Baek Jong Won recipe: Spicy Korean Braised Pork Ribs 돼지갈비 뽁음탕). Braised short ribs are a fancy traditional feast dish but I have never come across braised pork ribs in Korean cuisine. This turned out to be more delicious than planned! The pork ribs become soft and tender with a flavor spicy, salty, sweet bite. The flavors and sauce are a play on Korean spicy braised chicken (dak bokkeum tang 닭볶음탕).
This isn’t the quickest meal to make but takes much less time than beef short ribs and could be a good addition to a hosted dinner party that looks fancy but takes less time and doesn’t break the bank.
* Pro Tip: When there’s just about some sauce and a few bite size pieces of the meat left, cut the meat into smaller bites with scissors and add in a bowl of rice. Stir-fry again over medium heat, sprinkle with thin slices of gim (dried seaweed) and it will be the most delicious fried rice!
Clips from the show!
Spicy Korean Braised Pork Ribs - Baek Jong Won
Ingredients
- 2.2 lb (1 kg) pork ribs *I used country ribs but any type of pork rib should work
- 2 onions
- 2 small potatoes
- 1/2 carrot
- 1 ½ large green onion or 2 small scallions
- 2 spicy peppers Jalapeños or serrano peppers work great
- 3 Tbsp sugar
- 800 ml (3 1/3 cup) water
Sauce Ingredients
- 100 ml soy sauce 6 2/3 Tbsp (equals 1/4 cup plus 2 2/3 Tbsp)
- 2 Tbsp minced garlic
- Ground pepper to taste
- 1 Tbsp coarse Korean red chili pepper flakes
- 2 Tbsp fine Korean red chili pepper flakes fine chili pepper flakes are used to make Korean red pepper taste so mixing of the two types of pepper flakes mesh well together. If you only have one type, use all 3 Tbsp for one type
Instructions
- In a large bowl, soak the pork ribs in cold water and wash each piece under running water. (You don’t need to soak pork ribs in water like beef).
- Boil a large pot of water and once boiling, place in the pork ribs for about 5-8 minutes until you don’t see bright red on the meat. Throw away the water and clean the pot. * Make sure to place the meat once the water is boiling so the meat stays tender.
- Prep the vegetables. Cut the onions, carrot, and potato into bite size chunks. Slice the green onions and spicy peppers.
- Place the pork ribs back into a clean pot. Sprinkle in 3 Tbsp of sugar and stir-fry the meat. * Adding in the sugar early makes the meat and dish overall sweeter without using too much sweetener. This is a Baek Jong Won trick that he uses across recipes.
- Once all the sugar has melted, add in the onions and continue to stir-fry on high heat for about 8-10 minutes. * The onions will also add a sweet depth into the flavor.
- Add in 3 ⅓ cups of water (800 ml). Just enough to have all the ingredients in the water. Once the water begins to simmer, add the potatoes and carrots. Also add in the 2 Tbsp of minced garlic and 100 ml soy sauce. Continue to simmer until the liquid sauce is reduced to about ⅔ of the starting amount.
- Add in the 1 Tbsp coarse and 2 Tbsp fine Korean red chili pepper flakes. Also add in the green onion, spicy peppers and the finishing touch of ground pepper. Continue to simmer until the sauce is suits your taste. I took it off the oven just about at this point!
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