Slow Cooker Barbecue Ribs

This dish is a favourite of my middle child, and also his friends. The slow-cooking makes the meat so tender that it falls off the bone, and the top parts of the rib, including the connective tissue, are soft and chewy enough to eat - this is my favourite part!

I buy meaty, free-range ribs from Waitrose, and allow 3-4 ribs per person. A bottle of barbecue sauce, around 300ml will be enough and we are trying various brands.

In an ideal world I would toast my coriander and cumin seeds in a hot pan, then grind to powder, but ground spices would be a convenient alternative (especially since said middle child smashed my pestle in a fit of scientific curiosity...).

Ingredients

• Approx. 1kg of free-range, meaty pork ribs - allow 3-4 ribs per person
• 1 bottle of barbecue sauce, approx. 300ml
• 1 chicken stock cube
• 1 tsp mustard powder (use mustard paste if not available)
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp black peppercorns
• 2 bay leaves

Serves 3-4

Method

• In a bowl, mix approx. 1/3 of the barbecue sauce, the crumbled stock cube, mustard powder, coriander, cumin and peppercorns.
• Place the ribs into the slow cooker, then coat them in the barbecue sauce mix so that they are thoroughly covered. Top with enough water to just cover the ribs, then add the bay leaves
• Put the slow-cooker on high for approx. 3.5 - 4hrs
• Heat the oven to 200 degrees C fan
• Line a roasting tin with greaseproof paper, then remove the ribs carefully with a spatula or slotted spoon - be careful to keep the meat on the bone! place the ribs in a single layer in the roasting tin, then pour the remaining barbecue sauce from the bottle over the ribs and use pastry brush or spoon to cover the ribs

Ribs out of the slow cooker and ready for the oven

• Cook in the oven for 20 minutes.

• Remove from the oven, when the ribs are starting to crisp on the outside. These are lovely, served with rice and stir-fried vegetables. 

Barbecue Slow Cooker Ribs

Minced Pork Vermicelli in Black Bean Sauce (豉汁豬肉粉絲)

I've neglected this blog for a few years, having fallen into some mundane "same 10 meals always" routine, and not really had enough time or imagination to think up new dishes.

Now everyone is a bit older, and a few of them are a bit fussier, whilst others are less fussy, I'd like to revive it whenever I get the chance. We've not been eating enough Chinese food, so I've had a couple of days of cooking relatively simple meals - tonight we had this dish, along with some steamed pork and salted eggs and some simple boiled vegetables with oyster sauce. i don't cook with the mung bean noodles (also known as glass noodles or cellophane noodles) very often - I find that if I soak them first they tend to fall apart, so I gave these a quick rinse and only dropped them into the dish in the final few minutes of cooking. Middle child, being a noodle monster, loved it.

Ingredients

• 200g pork mince
• 1 tsp cornflour
• pinch of ground white pepper
• 1cm cube of fresh ginger, grated
• few drops of sesame oil
• 1 slice of ginger and 1 peeled clove of garlic, bashed with the side of a cleaver
• 2 x 50g pack of mung bean vermicelli
• 1 tbsp black bean and garlic sauce 
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 5 leaves from a chinese leaf, chopped into pieces
• sunflower or vegetable oil to fry
• 1 tsp cornflour in 25ml water to thicken (optional)
• water

Serves 4-5

Instructions

• Mix the pork with the corn flour, white pepper and sesame oil. Grate the ginger, then squeeze the juice over the mince and mix well. Cover and leave for an hour if you have time (I left mine overnight)
• Rinse the vermicelli in a sieve and set aside
• Heat the sunflower oil in a wok until it is "moving" hot but not smoking. Add the slice of ginger and garlic, then stir-fry to flavour the oil
• Add the pork mince and stir-fry until browned through. Add the black bean and garlic sauce and sugar then add 100ml water, stir well, lower the heat and cover. Let simmer for 5 minutes
• After 5 minutes, add the chinese leaf to the wok. Stir well and add extra water if necessary (the ingredients should not be completely covered but there should be enough water to come about 1/2 way up the ingredients). Cover the wok again and let simmer for another 4 - 5 minutes
• When the chinese leaf looks slightly wilted, add the vermicelli to the wok. They will absorb water, so add more water if needed. 
• When the noodles have lost their opacity, the dish is ready. The vermicelli should be chewy but not too soft. Thicken the sauce with cornflour/water if desired, and remove from the heat. Add a few drops of sesame oil and serve in a warmed dish.

Minced Pork Vermicelli in Black Bean Sauce (豉汁豬肉粉絲)