This is food for sharing and eating with your fingers. Pile the ribs into a big dish, place it in the middle of the table and enjoy!
TO DRINK: Grangehurst Pinotage 2001 has a bold, powerful plum character with a full mouth feel to stand up to this dish.
Sticky Singaprean spareribs
Ingredients
- PASTE
- 4 garlic cloves
- 20ml (4 tsp) fresh ginger, grated
- 2 red chillies, seeded
- 10ml (2 tsp) chilli paste
- 1 lemon grass stalk, chopped
- 5ml (1 tsp) fish sauce
- 30ml (2 tbsp) sesame oil
- 30ml (2 tbsp) soy sauce
- 5 curry leaves
- 20ml (4 tsp) ground cinnamon
- 2 cloves
- 10ml (2 tsp) salt
- 80ml (¹/³ cup) oil
- 1kg pork spareribs, chopped into bite-sized pieces
- 1 x 420g tin coconut milk
- 100g spring onions, sliced
- steamed rice, to serve
- 60ml (¼ cup) plum sauce, to serve (see Cook’s Tip below)
Instructions
For the paste, put all the ingredients into a pestle and mortar and pound to a smooth paste.
Heat the oil in a wok for about 1 minute and fry the paste until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the spareribs and stir-fry until the meat is well coated with the spices, about 10 minutes.
Stir in the coconut milk and bring to a simmer. Cook until the meat is almost tender, about 30 minutes.
Continue to cook over a low heat until the sauce has thickened. Add the spring onions and stir to combine. Cook for about 2 minutes.
Serve with steamed rice and plum sauce while the ribs are still hot.
Notes
Find plum sauce at Asian supermarkets, Woolworths nationwide or specialist delis such as Thrupps in Johannesburg, 011-268-0298.
