Vietnamese Braised Pork Ribs with Tofu and Turmeric
Vietnamese Braised Pork Ribs with Tofu and Turmeric is delicious with a deep savory flavor. This rustic Northern dish is great with either rice or vermicelli noodles.
Servings: 3 people
Calories: 400kcal
Ingredients
- 12 oz pork ribs, cut into sections
- 3 cups water (plus more to parboil the ribs)
- 1 teaspoon salt (plus more to soak eggplant)
- a 1-inch piece of ginger
- 10.5 oz medium-firm to firm tofu
- cooking oil
- 1 Asian eggplant
- 2 medium tomatoes
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder, divided
- 1 1/4 teaspoons fish sauce, divided
- 2 teaspoons shrimp paste, divided
- 2 teaspoons minced shallots
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 2 1/2 tablespoons rice vinegar
- 1/4 - 1/2 cup julienned perilla leaves
- 1/4 - 1/2 cup julienned wild betel leaves
- rice vermicelli noodles or rice, to serve
Instructions
- Bring plenty of water to a boil and then add pork ribs. Parboil for 1-2 minutes, then take the ribs out and rinse under water. Discard the boiling liquid.
- In a clean pot, add pork ribs, 3 cups of water, 1 teaspoon of salt and ginger. Bring it to a boil, then lower to a gentle simmer. Skim off any foam. Simmer with the lid slightly askew for about 75-90 minutes or until the ribs are near tender.
- While simmering the ribs, prepare other ingredients. Slice tofu into 3/4-inch (or up to 1-inch) thick pieces, pat dry. Place a pan over medium to medium-high heat and heat a generous amount of oil. Once the oil is hot, add tofu and fry until both sides are golden, flip once. This may take 5-6 minutes.
- Cut eggplant into 2-inch long pieces and then quarter each piece. Soak in salted water for 15-20 minutes. Remove eggplant from the soaking water before cooking. Slice tomatoes into small wedges.
- Once the ribs are near tender, remove them from the broth and keep the broth. Toss the ribs with 1/4 teaspoon of turmeric powder, 1/4 teaspoon of fish sauce and 1/4 teaspoon of shrimp paste. Set aside.
- Place a pot over medium heat and add some oil. Once the oil is hot, add minced shallots. Sauté for a few seconds until fragrant, and then add minced garlic. Sauté briefly until fragrant.
- Add eggplant to the pot. Stir and cook for a minute. Add tomato wedges and continue to stir and cook for a minute. Then add the remaining shrimp paste, turmeric powder and fish sauce to the pot. Stir and cook until it smells delicious.
- Add fried tofu to the pot and stir to cook for 1 minute. Then add pork ribs and continue to stir and cook for 2-3 more minutes.
- Pour the pork rib broth reserved in Step 5 and 2-2½ tablespoons of rice vinegar to the pot and bring everything to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook gently with the lid slightly askew for 20-30 minutes until flavors meld together and the ribs and eggplant are tender to your liking.
- Bring the pot back to a boil and add julienned perilla leaves and wild betel leaves. Cook for about 1 minutes and then transfer to serving bowls. Serve hot with rice or vermicelli noodles.
Notes
If you have never tried this dish before, you can use slightly less shrimp paste and rice vinegar than amount stated in Step 7 and 9. Then after simmering everything for 10 minutes, you can taste the broth and add more to your liking. You can also add several slices of bird's eye chili to the pot for some heat.
You can speed up the cooking process by using a pressure cooker, such as an Instant Pot, in Step 2. Cook the ribs with 2 1/2 cups of water, ginger and salt on High Pressure for about 15 minutes.
Nutrition
Calories: 400kcal | Carbohydrates: 19g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 102mg | Sodium: 1177mg | Potassium: 761mg | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 719IU | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 320mg | Iron: 9mg