How to Make Braised Pork Ribs with Pepper
Elevate your meal with this braised pork ribs with pepper recipe. The dish features tender, flavorful ribs enhanced by the nutty heat of both black and green peppercorns.
Ingredients
- 500g baby back ribs
- 4-5 sprigs of green peppercorns
- 15-20g black and white peppercorns
- 2-3 shallots
- 4-5 garlic cloves
- 1-2 bird’s eye chilies or hot red chili peppers
- Salt
- Seasonings: fish sauce, sugar, MSG, caramel sauce
Ingredient Notes
For this recipe, you can use baby back ribs, loin ribs, or rib tips. In addition to black pepper, adding green peppercorns will make the dish more aromatic.
However, green peppercorns are rare in Northern Vietnam's markets, so you might need to purchase them from specialty agricultural stores. Occasionally, larger supermarkets carry them during pepper season.
Instructions
Prepare Ingredients
Rub the ribs with salt and rinse well. Bring a pot of water to a boil, adding 1/2 tablespoon of salt. Once boiling, blanch the ribs for 2 minutes. Make sure to leave the lid off during blanching to allow impurities and unpleasant odors to evaporate.
After blanching, remove the ribs, rinse clean, and let them drain.
Peel and finely chop the shallots and garlic. For extra aroma and color, you can keep 1-2 layers of the inner skin of the shallots, rinse, and chop them as well.
Rinse the green peppercorns. Clean the black and white peppercorns, dry them, then lightly toast in a pan to bring out their aroma before coarsely crushing them.
Rinse and finely chop the red chili peppers.
Marinate the Ribs
After blanching, rinse the ribs again and drain. Marinate them with 1 tablespoon of fish sauce, 1/2 tablespoon of sugar, 1/2 tablespoon of MSG, and 1 tablespoon of caramel sauce for color. Add half of the chopped shallots, garlic, black and white pepper, and chili to the ribs for added flavor.
Mix well and let the ribs marinate for about 30 minutes.
Caramel sauce helps give the ribs a glossy, reddish-brown color when braised. You can find detailed instructions for making caramel sauce here.
Cook the Braised Ribs with Pepper
Add the ribs and the marinade to a pot, stirring to coat the ribs in the caramel sauce. Then, add 1-2 tablespoons of cooking oil. Heat over medium heat and stir the ribs until they are browned and well-coated with the sauce.
Lower the heat and let the mixture simmer. Add 2-3 sprigs of green peppercorns, cover the pot, and braise the ribs for 40-50 minutes until tender. Occasionally stir the ribs to ensure they absorb the seasonings evenly.
If you prefer more sauce, you can add some water or fresh coconut juice during the braising process.
Once the ribs are tender, add the remaining chopped shallots, garlic, black and white pepper, chili, and green peppercorns. Stir well and adjust seasoning to taste. Cook for another 2-3 minutes, then remove from heat and plate the ribs.
