Sweet Potatoes Steamed Pork Ribs with Spiced Cracked Rice (红薯粉蒸排骨 Hong2 Shu3 Fen3 Zhen1 Pai2 Gu3) is unique, as the ribs are coated with cracked sticky rice before cook. The rice can absorb the juices that seep out of the meat.
Tips:
- You can replace the sweet potatoes with taros or other yams.
- In a more authentic way, you can place the ribs and sweet potatoes in a bamboo steamer with a dried lotus leaf (rehydrated in cold water before use).
- If you prefer making ribs only with rice, try this sticky rice steamed ribs recipe!
Sweet Potatoes Steamed Pork Ribs with Spiced Cracked Rice (红薯粉蒸排骨)
Servings: 3 people
Ingredients
Basic Ingredients
- 1 pound pork ribs
- 1-2 sweet potatoes
- green onions chopped for garnish
Ingredients for the Marinade
- 10 minced garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoons cooking wine
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons Sichuan chile bean paste
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon Chinese five spice
- 1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorn powder
Ingredients for the Spiced Cracked Rice
- 1/2 cup white rice
- 1/4 cup sticky rice
- 2 pieces bay leaves
- 1 piece cinnamon stick
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
Instructions
- Clean the ribs with water thoroughly and dry with paper towel. For some ribs, it’s better to soak in the water for 1-2 hours to remove the blood from the bone. You might need to change the water in between.
- Mix the marinade ingredients together in a shallow dish. Add the ribs and coat well. Set aside for 30 minutes.
- Toast the white rice and sticky rice with star anise, bay leaves, cumin seeds and cinnamon stick in a pan over medium heat, stir continuously to prevent scorching. Remove from the heat when it turns to yellow. Set aside until cool down.
- Grind the rice mixture with a food processor until it turns to smaller pieces. The size depends on your own preference; just don’t make it like powder. I prefer the coarse texture.
- Coat the marinated ribs with cracked rice well. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into bite-size pieces, arrange them in a plate, and then add the ribs on top. Put the plate in a steamer and steam for 1-2 hours.
- Top with chopped green onions, serve!