Vietnamese Braised Spareribs with Shiitake Mushrooms and Bean Curd Skin – Suon Kho voi Nam Dong Kho va Tau Hu Ky

This pictorial recipe is an inspiration from Nina Tranle’s Vietnamese braised pork ribs. I have been braising pork ribs the way she cooks hers to make it so tender and juicy. I do not use paprika or mushroom seasoning like she does with hers. For my recipe, I used dried shiitake mushrooms instead and added dried beancurd skin for the husband who is trying to avoid meaty dishes. It’s now my family’s favorite version of braised pork dish. It’s also my very first BABY and toddler-approved recipe! My seven-months-old baby ate about 6 pea size balls of rice with a bit of the sauce mixed in. He opened his mouth so wide to let me know he wants more.

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 55 minutes or longer
Serving: 6 quart pot
Stove: GE Spectra stove top

Ingredients:

about 5 lb spareribs (4.7 lb in this pictorial)
2 cans Coco Rico Soda
2 cups water
12 – 18 premium grade shiitake mushrooms
5 pieces bean curd skin or 3 cups soaked bean curd skin
1 yellow onion or 2 cups diced onion
4 shallots or 6 Tbsp diced shallots
4 Tbsp minced garlic
3 Tbsp Golden Mountain soy sauce
2.5 Tbsp Black soy sauce
6 Tbsp fish sauce (Phu Quoc brand)
2 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp oil

Direction:

First, soak the shiitake mushrooms and dried bean curd skin in hot sink water. Then fill pot 2/3 way with water and bring it to a boil. While waiting for the water to boil, cut the ribs in short pieces. After soaking the mushrooms and bean curd in hot water for about 10 minutes, rinse the mushrooms and squeeze the liquid out, strain the bean curd, and slice or chop these two ingredients.

2. When water starts boiling hard, carefully put the spare ribs in. Par boil the ribs for about 7 to 10 minutes. Discard the scum. Then strain the ribs in a colander. I did not rinse the ribs. (I would probably freeze the pork bone broth next time.)

3. Diced onion and shallots and minced garlic and put into a bowl if not already. Mix the sauce with 2 tsp black pepper, 3 Tbsp black soy sauce, 6 Tbsp fish sauce, and 2.5 Tbsp Golden Mountain seasoning soy sauce. (I used the Phu Quoc brand of fish sauce for this particular recipe.)

4. Set timer to 55 minutes. Heat up pot with 1 Tbsp of oil. Saute the onion mixture for two minutes on high heat until you can smell it. Stir occasionally.

5. Then add the spare ribs back into the pot. Pour the sauce mixture in. Cook on medium high heat (#7) for about 4 minutes, stirring the meat up constantly so it can be coated evenly.

6. Add in the 2 cans of Coco Rico soda and 2 cups of water. Add the shiitake mushrooms at this time and bring the liquid to a boil. Then turn heat down to low (#3 or 4) and cover pot with lid for the remaining time (46 minutes for me).

7. When time is up, add in the dried bean curd skin. Stir and cover with lid for another 10 minutes. After the ten minutes with bean curd, you can serve it with rice or continue cooking the meat until meat is tender. I increased heat to medium (#6) until meat is tender which was about another 30 minutes for me. Normally, I only cook about 2.5 to 3 pounds of spare ribs and a good 45 minutes of total cooking time is enough for meat to be tender, but with 5 pounds of spare ribs today, the cooking time was longer. I am hoping to figure out how to cook this in the Instant Pot and update this with IP cooking instruction next time.