Pork ribs sweet and sour

 

Prepare 500g of pork ribs. Try to buy pork ribs as young as you can. 

Step 1: Boil some water in a sauce pan with a smashed shallot (shallots help reduce the odor in the meat). When it's boiled, dip pork ribs in and let it rest there for 7 minutes to get rid of the scum and dirt. When it's done, pour everything out to a strainer, and wash the ribs again to make sure they are as clean as possible.

Step 2: Dry the ribs with kitchen towel. Heat a frying pan with oil, then put the ribs in, fry until all sides of the meat are golden brown. 

Step 3: Pour the following combination into the pan: 3 tsp of sugar, 3 tbsp of fish sauce, 3 tbsp of vinegar, 3 tbsp of chili sauce (like sriracha), some ground black pepers and 4 tbsp of water. Make sure the sauce well covers all pork ribs. Cover the pan with a lid and let it simmer on medium low heat.

When the sauce thickens, cut a bit of pork rib to try. If you find it nice, dish out.

You may also want to add more water to the pan and simmer the meat longer for it to be more tender.

This dish is Vietnamese traditional, so fish sauce is a must. If you replace fish sauce with soy sauce, the flavor will not so sharp.