Basil Japanese Curry Red Wine Pork Spareribs (紫蘇日本咖哩紅酒豬排骨, Zi2 Sou1 Jat6 Bun2 Gaa3 Lei1 Hung4 Zau2 Zyu1 Paai4 Gwat1)

One of my favorite ingredients is pork spareribs, and making the pork with a curry, in this case, a Japanese curry, makes for a tasty dish. Japanese curry comes packaged as ready to cook cubes with a varying degree of spiciness (to be honest, there really isn’t any spiciness in Japanese curry). It’s very convenient to use and is added at the end of cooking. The instructions say to use water to cook your ingredients, but any liquid can be substituted and, in this case, red wine was used instead of water. Using a different liquid besides water gives the curry an added flavor and it’s a very easy change to make. The curry instructions suggest that 3 cups (750 ml.) be used when using 4 cubes of the curry (one-half package), but I’ve found that 2 cups (500 ml) produce a thicker sauce that is common for Japanese curry.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 lb.	1 kg.	Pork spareribs (豬排骨, zyu1 paai4 gwat1), cut into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Baking soda (蘇打粉, sou1 daa2 fan2)
½ in.	15 mm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), crushed in a garlic press
2 cloves	2 cloves	Garlic (蒜, syun3), crushed in a garlic press
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Corn starch (粟粉, suk1 fan2)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Soy sauce (豉油, si6 jau4)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Hoisin sauce (海鮮醬, hoi2 sin1 zoeng3)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)
12	12	Dried whole Shiitake mushrooms (冬菇, dung1 gu1), rehydrated
8 oz.	227 g.	One package fried tofu (油炸豆腐, jau4 zaa3 dau6 fu6)
1 lb.	500 g.	Carrots (紅蘿蔔, baak6 lo4 baak6), cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) diagonal pieces
1 lb.	500 g.	Daikon (白蘿蔔, syu4), quartered and cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces
1	1	Onion (洋蔥, joeng4 cung1), halved and cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces
3 stalks	3 stalks	Green onions (葱, cung1), cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces on the diagonal
½ cup	125 ml.	Fresh basil leaves (紫蘇, zi2 sou1)
		Oil for cooking

Sauce Ingredients

2 cups	500 ml.	Red wine (紅酒, hung4 zau2)
3.5 oz.	100 g.	One-half package S&B brand Japanese Curry Sauce Mix (日本咖哩, jat6 bun2 gaa3 lei1) or equivalent – 4 cubes

Equipment

		Garlic press
14 in.	35.5 cm.	Wok or pan
6 qt.	5.7 L.	Dutch oven

Preparation Instructions

S&B Brand Japanese Curry Sauce Mix
(日本咖哩, jat6 bun2 gaa3 lei1)

1. Have the butcher or purchase the pork spareribs already cut into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces. Prepare the pork spareribs by removing any excess fat and place into a bowl. Add baking soda to the bowl and fill with cold water to cover the pork. Mix the pork in the baking soda solution, allow to tenderize for at least 15 minutes, and then drain and wash the baking soda from the meat. The baking soda can be omitted but results in the tender meat experienced in restaurant dishes.
2. Marinate the pork in a covered container for at least one hour or overnight in the refrigerator with the ginger and garlic crushed in a garlic press, corn starch, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. If marinating the pork overnight, take it out of the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking. Place the entire contents into the Dutch oven. Remove the pork spareribs, leaving the marinating liquid in the Dutch oven. Remove as much liquid from the pork spareribs as possible (a paper towel works well) to facilitate browning the pork later in a wok.
3. Pour boiling water over the small dried whole Shiitake mushrooms in a heat proof bowl and rehydrate the mushrooms for at least one hour. Remove the Shiitake mushrooms from the rehydration liquid and remove the stems. If small Shiitake mushrooms are not available, cut the Shiitake mushrooms into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces. Reserve the rehydration liquid for later use in the cooking process. If you need to rehydrate the Shiitake mushrooms quickly, use the method described here: Technique: How to Quickly Rehydrate Dried Shiitake Mushrooms (冬菇, Dung¹ Gu¹).
4. Wash and cut the carrots into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) quarter-cut pieces. Cut the carrots on the diagonal and turn the carrot a quarter-turn. Repeat the diagonal cut and quarter-turn steps until the entire carrot is cut into pieces.
5. Wash, clean, and cut the daikon into quarters. Cut each daikon quarter into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces.
6. Remove the tough outer skin of the onion and cut in half. Cut each onion half into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces.
7. Open the fried tofu package and discard any liquid.
8. Wash and cut the green onions into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces.
9. Wash and remove the leaves from the fresh basil stalks.
10. Open and use one-half the curry mix package - four cubes.
11. Measure out the red wine for the sauce.

Cooking Instructions

1. Heat a wok or pan over high heat before adding oil. Add the pork spareribs to the wok in a single layer on the bottom and brown the outside. You may have to cook the pork in batches, so be sure to reheat the wok over high heat before adding more oil. Transfer the pork to the Dutch oven.
2. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the Shiitake mushrooms. Stir fry the mushrooms and then transfer to the Dutch oven.
3. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the fried tofu. Stir fry the fried tofu and then transfer to the Dutch oven.
4. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the carrots. Stir fry the carrots and then transfer to the Dutch oven.
5. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the daikon. Stir fry the daikon and then transfer to the Dutch oven.
6. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the onion. Stir fry the onion and then transfer to the Dutch oven.
7. Add the red wine to the Dutch oven and heat uncovered over high heat until the contents boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover the Dutch oven, and simmer for 40 minutes.
8. Uncover and remove the Dutch oven from the heat, add the curry sauce cubes, and stir to dissolve the curry cubes. Add the green onions and basil leaves, and increase the heat to high to bring the contents to a boil. Cover the Dutch oven, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for another 5 minutes. Put the cooked ingredients into a serving dish, and serve with Clay Pot or steamed rice.