Four words. Comfort in a pot. This one is for those days when you are craving Chinese food but want something extra warm and cozy. Good news is that it is so simple to make once you have the right ingredients prepared.
The combination of Chinese shiitake mushrooms and the sweetness of the red dates compliment each other so well. The fresh ginger ties those ingredients so well together and gives it a warm and fiery kick.
Funny enough, I find this meal circulating in my monthly rotations because of how easy and convenient it is to make. My pantry never runs dry of certain Chinese dried staples and that definitely includes dried shiitake and red dates.
Chinese dried shiitake mushrooms have an intense aroma and beautiful chewy texture to them when re-hydrated. But make sure you re-hydrate them properly! They need enough time to soak in water before being cooked. Prepare ahead of time by soaking them in room temperature water for at least 8 hours, covered with a lid. You can leave it out in the kitchen for the day before you start cooking the night of. Once they rehydrate, do not throw away the “mushroom water”. That is GOLD. Keep that as a stock for your vermicelli pot. Trust me, you’ll thank me later.
Braised pork ribs vermicelli pot
A quick and easy week night meal that warms you up instantly. The pork ribs and the mushrooms create a delicious broth for the vermicelli while the ginger and red dates give it an inviting fiery sweet taste.
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 10 minutes
Serves: 2
Ingredients
- 4-5 Chinese dried mushrooms, re-hydrated, sliced
- 4 pieces of red dates
- 1/4 cup golgi berries
- 1 medium shallot
- 4 slices of fresh ginger
- 1 lb short pork ribs
- 2 cups Taiwanese cabbage, cut
- 2 tbsp Shao Xing wine (Chinese cooking wine)
- 2 servings of Chinese vermicelli, soaked
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1.5 tsp white sugar
- 1 tsp white pepper
- 1/2 cup mushroom stock (from rehydrating dried mushrooms)
- 4 cups water
- Salt to taste
Directions
- Soak Chinese dried mushrooms ahead of time for at least 8 hours.
- Soak vermicelli in room temperature water for around 30 minutes.
- Blanch pork ribs in boiling water for 2 minutes. Strain and rinse under cold water.
- In a big stone pot or regular wok, saute shallots and ginger in hot oil until brown.
- Add rinsed pork ribs. Saute for 1 minute under medium high heat. Add Chinese cooking wine, sugar, white pepper and soy sauce. Cook for another minute.
- Add cabbage, mushrooms, red dates, and golgi berries. Stir.
- Quickly add in mushroom stock and water. Cover pot with lid and cook for 5-7 minutes until pork is tender.
- Add vermicelli in pot. Cover lid again. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Season with salt to taste.
- Serve hot and enjoy!
Taste of Raine 