Name: Red Braised Pork Ribs with Carrots or Potatoes Chinese Style
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 2 lb pork ribs; 1 tsp cooking oil, I like avocado oil; 2 lb carrots or potatoes, peeled and cut into bite size chunks, optional, if not using then cut the soy sauce into half; 2 stalks of green onion, chopped; 1 small piece of ginger, organic preferred, cut into thin slices; 1 tbsp naturally aged soy sauce, or dark soy sauce; 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine; 3 star anise; 3 bay leaves; 1 tsp red yeast rice powder, optional, for all natural red color; 1/4 tsp clove powder; 1/2 tsp coriander seeds powder; 1 tbsp dark soy sauce; 2 tbsp light soy sauce; 1-2 cups of water, use 1 cup of water if not adding carrots or potatoes

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Red Braised Pork Ribs with Carrots is a traditional home cooking in China. It features juicy, flavorful meat off the bone pork ribs with soft, and deliciously glazed carrots. Perfect to pair with a freshly steamed rice for a satisfying rice bowl dinner.

Red Braised Pork Ribs with Carrots Chinese Style

Ingredients required for making Chinese Style Red Braised Pork Ribs

Ingredients for making red braised pork ribs Chinese Style with Carrots

Other than pork ribs and carrots, you will need the usual Chinese cooking essentials such as green onion, ginger, naturally aged soy sauce {or dark soy sauce), Shaoxing wine, and Zhenjiang vinegar.

The bright shining red color comes from Chinese ancient ingredient red yeast rice. For flavoring the meat, I use star anise, bay leaves, clove powder, freshly ground coriander seeds powder, and sweet fermented bean paste.

For coriander seeds, it is easy to get the organic coriander seeds and use a spice grinder to grind into powder at home.

Red Yeast Rice Fun Facts

Red Yeast Rice are white rice fermented in a certain way that turns the rice into red color. An ancient all-natural food color popular in China, especially in the Yangtze River Delta area. People use it often to braise meat and poultry for the bright beautiful red color.

I use a spice grinder to turn red yeast rice into powder for easier home cooking.

Red Yeast Rice and Red Yeast Rice Powder

They are my go-to all-natural red food color for cooking meat and poultry where we desire a shining red color. For instance, Red Braised Pork Belly, Red Braised Lion’s Head, one-pot Pork with Potato & Carrots dish, Lu Rou Sauce and Lu Rou Fan, Braised Duck, Braised Beef Shank, just to name a few.

Red Yeast Rice is also widely known as its superb health benefits. People believe they may help improve circulation, reduce cholesterol level and posses powerful anti-inflammatory substances. What a plus!

food featuring red yeast rice — Food Featuring Red Yeast Rice

How to make Red Braised Pork Ribs perfectly at home?

Tip No.1 is to sear or pan fry the ribs first

Turn the heat to medium-high and heat the wok for 1 minute. Add a bit of cooking oil, such as canola oil using a homemade oil sprayer, minced ginger, chopped green onion along with ribs. Use a slotted turner to flip and turn the ribs and pan fry for 5 minutes. Pour in the pan frying sauce (naturally aged soy sauce, Shaoxing wine and Zhenjiang vinegar) 2 minutes into the process.

Tip No.2 is to red braise pork ribs at medium-high heat with lid covered for 10 minutes

After searing the pork ribs for 5 minutes at medium-high heat, and turn the heat to medium. Pour braising sauce into the wok in a circular motion, including star anise, bay leaves, clove powder, coriander seeds powder, sweet bean paste, light soy sauce and water, and cook for 10 minutes.

Tip No.3 is to braise at medium heat with lid covered for another 10 minutes

Following braising the pork ribs for 10 minutes at medium-high heat, fold the ribs into the surrounding braising juice using a slotted turner. Turn the heat to medium, add the carrot chunks, and cover the lid and braise for another 10 minutes.

Last but not least is to stir fry for 5 minutes to caramelize ribs and carrots

By the end of the 20 minutes braising, the liquid is almost disappearing in the wok. Remove the lid, fold and mix the ribs and carrots with the remaining juice using a flexible turner. This helps caramelize the pork ribs and carrots.

Red Braised Pork Ribs with Carrots or Potatoes Chinese Style

Yield: 4 servings

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

2 lb pork ribs
1 tsp cooking oil, I like avocado oil
2 lb carrots or potatoes, peeled and cut into bite size chunks, optional, if not using then cut the soy sauce into half

For Pan-Frying Sauce:

2 stalks of green onion, chopped
1 small piece of ginger, organic preferred, cut into thin slices
1 tbsp naturally aged soy sauce, or dark soy sauce
2 tbsp Shaoxing wine

For Braising Sauce:

3 star anise
3 bay leaves
1 tsp red yeast rice powder, optional, for all natural red color
1/4 tsp clove powder
1/2 tsp coriander seeds powder
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tbsp light soy sauce
1-2 cups of water, use 1 cup of water if not adding carrots or potatoes

Instructions

1. Gather and prepare ingredients:

Seperate the pork ribs, wash and rinse well. Air dry or pat dry with a paper towel.

Wash and rinse carrots or potatoes, peel and then cut into bite-size chunks.
Wash and rinse green onion and ginger. Cut green onion into small pieces, and ginger into thin slices.
Add everything under "For Pan Frying Sauce" into a small bowl and mix well.
Add everything under "For Braising Sauce" into another small bowl, except for the water, and mix well.

2. Turn the heat to medium-high and heat the wok for one minute. Add 1 tsp avocado oil, if the ribs have enough fat, then skip. Add green onion, ginger and pork ribs. Save some green onion for the garnishing.
Sear the pork ribs in the wok before braising

3. Stir fry the pork ribs for about 2 minutes, add then pour in the "pan-frying sauce" from the small bowl in a circular motion. Use a mini silicone spatula to scrape clean if necessary.
add pan frying sauce to the pork ribs

4. Continue to stir fry using a slotted turner using a fold and mix motion for another 3 minutes. You don't have to do it non-stop, just make sure you do it every 30 seconds or so.

5. Pour in the the "braising sauce" from the samll bowl in a circular motion. Use the same mini silicone spatula to scrape clean if necessary. Add 1 cup of water, fold and mix the pork ribs with the sauce. The liquid should barely cover the ribs.
Braise pork ribs in the wok

6. Cover the wok with a lid, bring it to a boil, turn the heat to low-simmer and cook for 20 minutes.

7. Turn the heat back to medium, remove the lid and fold and mix the rib with the remaining juice in the wok. Add the carrots/potatoes and fold into the ribs. Cover the wok with the lid and cook for another 10 minutes. Check toward end of the 5 minutes to ensure the there is still liquid in the pot.
Braise pork ribs with carrot chunks in the wok

8. The liquid should be disappearing by the end of 15 minutes. Remove the lid, use the same slotted turner fold and mix the ribs and carrots with the residual thickened juice left in the wok, for about 5 minutes, or till ribs and carrots/potatoes are well-caramelized and glazed.
Red Braised Pork Ribs and Carrots in the Wok

9. All done! Enjoy a juice tasty pork ribs with carrots. Perfect to pair with rice, noodles or buns.
Red Braised Pork Ribs with Carrots Chinese Style

Notes

Adding carrots and/or potatoes are optional. If not adding, remember to add only half of the soysauce and 1 cup of water for braising.

Recommended Ingredients

Red yeast rice, naturally aged soy sauce, light soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, Zhenjiang vinegar, sweet bean paste, organic clove powder, organic coriander seeds, bay leaves, star anise.

Recommended Kitchen Tools and Gadgets

Wok, dome-shaped wok lid, slotted turner, spice grinder, mini silicone spatula.