To me, cooking is an act of discovery–the discovery of combining and pairing ingredients for a remarkably delicious meal.

Sometimes, the discovery comes in a disguise and happens by chance, just like this scrumptious dish of Chinese braised  pork ribs with daikon and dried oysters (白萝卜蚝干焖排骨).

I developed this pork ribs recipe myself, not intentionally, but rather spontaneously. Sometimes, great things do happen with leftover ingredients in my fridge, in this case, daikon/turnip, pork ribs, dried oysters (previously I used them in my chicken congee/porridge), and dried wolfberries/goji berries.

This is a traditional Chinese recipe. Using low heat to slowly braise and cook the ingredients–preferably with a claypot–this cooking technique retains the natural flavor of the pork ribs while bringing out the sweetness of daikon and the briny taste of dried oysters.

And the wolfberries completed the balance and taste of this dish with a tint of fruity sweetness…

While this Chinese pork ribs recipe is probably not fine-dining or restaurant-worthy, it tastes so pleasing and homey that I strongly urge you to try it out.

(My Chinese pork ribs pictures really don’t do justice to my recipe. I mean, how can you make pork ribs+daikon+dried oysters+wolfberries any more photogenic?)

(Chinese recipes, prepare authentic Chinese food now!)

How Many Calories Per Serving?

This recipe is only 142 calories per serving.

Yield: 4 people

Chinese Pork Ribs

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Chinese Braised Pork Ribs with Daikon and Goji Berries.

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/2 pound (0.2 kg) pork ribs
• 1 daikon/turnip, medium-sized
• 6-8 dried oysters, rinsed and soaked in water for 15 minutes
• 1 tablespoon wolfberries/goji berries
• Chinese rice wine
• soy sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• salt to taste
• sugar to taste
• 1/2 tablespoon oil
• 6 cloves shallots, peeled

Instructions

1. Heat up a wok or claypot (preferred) and add in the oil. Sauté the shallots until slightly aromatic, then add in the dried oysters and daikon. Do a few quick stirs, follow by the pork ribs, rice wine, soy sauce, and water. Lower the heat to between medium and low, and then cover it up with a lid. Braise for about 20-30 minutes or until the water reduces and thickens. Add salt and sugar to taste and serve hot immediately.

Notes

If you don't like pork ribs, you can use chicken drumsticks. Just cut the chicken drumsticks into pieces, with bones in. You can use Japanese sake if you don't have Chinese rice wine.

Nutrition Information

Yield

4

Serving Size

4 people
Amount Per Serving Calories 142Total Fat 11gSaturated Fat 3gUnsaturated Fat 0gCholesterol 32mgSodium 53mgCarbohydrates 3gFiber 1gSugar 2gProtein 6g