Hoisin pork ribs and garlic noodles

Posted by spots (Singapore, Singapore) on 6 December 2006 in Food & Cuisine and Portfolio.

After a rather long bout of lacklustre foodblogging, you could say that I'm starting to get on a roll again. Note: I never stopped cooking - I just stopped experimenting with new dishes. Reason: a 15 month old creature named Daniel & a 27 week old squidge named Benjamin (yes we have a name!) Try taking care of an active toddler while being pregnant at the same time and see if you have enough mental space to think up new recipes!

Well, perhaps because Husband is now busily studying for his finals, and because my a cappella concert is over, I finally have more quiet personal time to start thinking of new dishes - and during one of my bouts of daydreaming, I came across two easy recipes from Saveur which I instantly knew would work. Hoisin pork ribs. *DROOL* The recipe: (a slightly adapted version from Saveur's) 1 pound (400-450g) of pork ribs (in America, Chinese supermarkets cut the ribs crosswise, through the bone. But any cut will do methinks, so long as it's got more meat than bone!) marinated in 4tb hoisin sauce, 2tb light soya sauce, 2tb vegetable oil & 2tb minced garlic; then, grilled (in America, they call it "broiled") on the top shelf of the oven, at the oven's maximum temperature - 8 minutes per side (or until cooked through, with little flecks of yummy burnt bits)

The complement to this meaty dish was the deliciously pungent Garlic Noodles. OK, I am absolutely in love with this dish. It is the absolute kicker of the month - say it with me: GARLIC NOODLES. *YUMS*. Now why didn't I think of that before? To make: (once again, a slightly adapted version from Saveur's - you guessed it, I added much more garlic!) mince an entire bulb of garlic and saute in hot oil till brown and fragrant (even slightly burnt is good methinks!) While doing this, cook 2 portions of Taiwanese noodles, i.e., enough for Husband & myself, in boiling water (Taiwanese noodles is white, the kind used for Zha Jiang Mian) and drain. Add immediately to the pungent garlic and stir thoroughly. Mix in 2ts light soy sauce and 1ts oyster sauce. Thrown in 4tb chopped spring onions. Serve immediately. Enjoy this amazing dish! I can still taste the garlic in my mouth - lovely!