Braised spare ribs and bitter gourd in tau cheo

I always wonder, how do working mums do it?  After work, can still manage to cook for the family?  This week,  my girl has classes till 6pm and by the time I am home, it is 630pm, just like a regular work day. And because my parents are also working the whole day at their house this period, I have kindly taken up the responsibility to be a filial girl and cook for the family.  Good girl right?

Ran out of ideas on what to cook today and saw bitter gourd in the fridge.  Wanted to cook noobcook's claypot chicken and bitter gourd but my dad said to use spare ribs instead.  He only said very briefly, braise the ribs with tau cheo.  Fullstop.  Luckily we live in the internet age....

So with noobcook's recipe as a base, I managed to recreate the dish my parents instructed me to cook!

Ingredients
(serves 4)

- 10 to 12 pcs of short spare ribs
- half a bitter gourd
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp tau cheo (soya bean paste)
- 1 tbsp black fermented beans (rinsed, patted dry and mashed slightly with a fork)
- 5 garlic cloves, minced (or about 1 tbsp)
- 1 tbsp Chinese wine (shao hsing / hua tiao)
- light soy sauce, to taste (optional)

Sauce
- 1 cup water
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sugar

tata!  my not so good looking dish, but oh so yummy

complemented with a plate of greens - spinach with century eggs

Directions

1. Cut the bitter gourd in slices.  If you wish to remove the bitterness, you may rub some salt on the flesh portion and leave for a few minutes before rinsing the salt off.

2. Heat sesame oil in clay pot, stir garlic till brown, then fry tau cheo & fermented black beans until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

3. Add spare ribs and bitter gourd. Stir fry until the chicken is no longer pink on the surface.

4. Add sauce ingredients. Bring to a simmer. Cover pot with lid and simmer for about 15 minutes. (see note)

5. Season to taste with light soy sauce or salt, if needed. If you like, add a splash of Chinese wine to the cooked stew as a finishing touch, and off the flame when you smell the lovely aroma of the wine.

Note : if you are using normal wok, you may need to simmer longer for at least half hour before the ribs are tender.  However, with HCP, it should be faster.