Braised Pork Ribs with Dry Bean Curd

This is very popular home-style Hokkien dish which we called ‘Hong Bak’ or 'Tau Yew Bak'. I learned making this dish from my mother but she normally uses pork rather than ribs. Since I am not a fan of fatty pork I used ribs for this dish. This dish goes really well with rice and it taste even better the next day.

Ingredients:
1 pound of ribs
Half packet of dry bean curd stick - cut and soaks in water until soft
1 whole bulb of garlic
2 star anise
5 slices of ginger
2 tbsp of sugar or a few pieces of rock sugar
3 tbsp of oyster sauce
3 tbsp of soy sauce
2 tbsp of black soy sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Marinate the pork with oyster sauce, soy sauce and dark soy sauce. In a heavy pot heat up 3 tbsp of oil. Add in sugar, stir until sugar melted and caramelized. Add in the whole garlic, star anise and ginger. Stir fry until fragrant and lightly brown.
2. Add in ribs, stir-fry until the meat changes color and the liquid almost evaporate. Add enough water to cover the ribs and bring it up to a boil.
3. Lower down the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the dry bean curd stick. Continue to simmer. Remember to stir occasionally to prevent burning at the bottom and even cooking
4. Continue to cook until the ribs is tender. Add in more water if needed.
5. Check seasoning and adjust the taste accordingly. You might need more salt or soy sauce. Serve with warm rice.

Note: You can add hard boiled eggs to this dish. Just boil the eggs, peel and put it into the dish 15 minutes before the dish is done. You can also use pork belly for this dish