Dog Days, Pork Ribs, and Red Wine
This week greets the proverbial dog days of summer here in Boston. The tropical soup will send us to pools, splash pads, beaches, and, if we are lucky, a dark and air conditioned set of rooms. The city will seem oppressively quiet and still, as if underwater, until the thunderstorms break the heatwave and wash the atmosphere clean again. Time for some summertime comfort food and wine.
(Speaking of the dog days, did you know The Wine Press is a dog friendly business? Well-behaved dogs are welcome at both our Brookline and Fenway locations. Your friend can help you pick out wine, peruse the market section, and can even get a special treat. You can read all about it in a recent feature blog post by Hello, I’m Gant!)
I am the sort of chef who fails to heed the conventional wisdom about what seasons call for what sort of preparation. I will grill all winter long, and in the summer I do not mind leaving a pot to lazily braise on the stove all day. On a genetic level, I simply must slice, bread, and fry eggplant at the very height of its seasonality in the summer, despite the questionable decision-making to stand in front of near-smoking oil for an hour. So for a week like this one, when the thermostat can keep the house cool, I like to break out an old favorite: Tamarind-Braised Pork Ribs.
The cut of meat is important. You want nicely marbled pork with plenty of fat, preferably on the bone. Your butcher can prepare the ribs for you, cutting them individually or into sections. Baby back ribs are quite good here, but if you have never used country-style pork ribs this is the time. These cuts are thick, juicy, and succulently soft. You can get them tender with just a coy, come-hither glance. If you truly do not wish to cook a cut with the bone in, pork shoulder (Boston butt) works well. If you have dietary restrictions regarding pork, beef short ribs would be a masterful substitution. You could also use bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs too.
Table Thirteen ~ Braised Tamarind Pork Ribs
Ingredients
3 tbsp., canola oil
2 lbs., pork ribs
1 tbsp., cornstarch
5 cloves, garlic, chopped
1/4 cup, fresh ginger, chopped
1 bunch, scallions, sliced (white and light green parts only)
2 tbsp, coriander (cilantro), chopped
1/2 cup, Xiaoshing wine
1/2 cup, tamarind soy sauce
1 tbsp., oyster sauce
1 tbsp., white sugar
2 star anise pods
3-5 dried chili peppers
5 cups, greens (bok choy, spinach, &c.)
3 cups, bean sprouts
7 cups, water
Recipe
(1) Heat the canola oil in a heavy bottomed pot over medium-high heat.
(2) Dust the pork ribs with the cornstarch and fresh ground black pepper. Sear in the hot oil until well browned. Remove and set aside.
(3) Reduce heat to low. Pour off any excess fat, leaving 1-2 tbsp. in the pot. Add the garlic, ginger, scallions, and coriander and sauté until soft.
(4) Add the pork ribs back into the pot. Deglaze with the wine and the soy sauce. Add the sugar, anise, peppers, oyster sauce, and sugar. Stir well until the ribs are coated and let cook for 5 minutes.
(5) Add the vegetables, stir well, and cook for 5 minutes.
(6) Add the water and raise the heat to medium. Braise on the stovetop for 2:30 hours.
(7) Serve over noodles with accompaniments of chili garlic sauce, coriander leaves, bean sprouts, and green scallion slices.
Wine Pairings
Pietregiovani, Puglia Primitivo Rosato 750ml
A beautiful red delicious color in the glass, with an alluring ginger-spice aroma. This is a wiry, almost nervy wine with bright, cracking acidity. The cherries in here are June-ripe, with a touch of apples and earthy tannins. We'll be drinking this one all summer long!
Seméli, Agiorgitiko "Feast" 750ml
Dark ruby with crimson highlights in color. Black figs in the bouquet. On the palate, notes of dark toasted caramel, coffee bean, and ripe blackberry. This is one light, bright, and bold Greek wine.
Juan Gil, Blue Label Jumilla DOP 750ml
A ripe, nervy, and beautifully oaked red blend from Jumilla in eastern Spain. Juan Gil's wines are always reminiscent of stewed fruit, cacao nibs, and abundantly smooth textures. This is a real treat of a wine at a treat of a price.
