Spareribs

Mmm. Dinner looks more delicious when I picture it on the sofa, don't you think? As I was planning to eat it sitting on the sofa, it seemed more truthful to let that be the backdrop for today's photo. "It" is

*white rice
*baby portabella mushrooms and broccoli stirfried with sesame oil and sprinkled with sesame seeds
*"Japanese style braised spareribs," recipe from
The Japanese Kitchen

The spareribs I bought said "country spareribs," so they looked more like pork chops than ribs. The much fattier version, that is. I was skeptical about liking them. As I ate them, not only did I think they were delicious, I even accidentally ate a piece of fat and it didn't gag me. There. If that doesn't give you a measure of how great, how edible they were, well, I can't help you further.

Japanese style Braised Spareribs
serves 4

1 1/2--2 pounds (680--900g) pork spareribs

3 T soy sauce
1 tsp. worchestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. toban jiang
1 1/2 T honey

2 T veg oil

1/4 cup cooking sake
2 T sugar

3 T rice vinegar

Cut the meat into individual ribs--what I bought was already cut, maybe that's part of what made them "country" ribs?
In a bowl, combine one tablespoon of the soy sauce and the next three ingredients; marinate the ribs for 30 minutes, then discard the marinade.
Heat a medium pot; I used my Martha Stewart enameled cast iron 5.5 quart pot, and add the veg oil, then brown the spareribs on all sides.
Add the sake, the sugar, and 1/2 cup of water to the pot with the browned spareribs. After bringing the mixture to a boil, simmer over low heat, covered, for 20 minutes.
Add the remaining 2 T of soy sauce and the rice vinegar to the pot; cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes, basting the spareribs several times with the cooking liquid.