Mapo Phai Kuat

Let me make a guess, if you have heard of Mapo Tofu, you must be thinking Mapo what?? after reading the title of this post...Yes, you heard me right, it's Mapo Phai Kuat not Mapo Tofu :)

This is a simple twist of the popular Mapo Tofu dish done with soft bone pork ribs (aka Phai Kuat in Cantonese), the type which i like to use for steaming.   

Ever since trying out the Japanese version of Mapo Tofu recipe that my friend Lena posted when the Asian Food Fest event was featuring Japan, i have fallen in love with the recipe! This Japanese version is slightly milder in terms of the fieriness of a typical Szechuan version and there's a hint of sweetness coming from the use of mirin.  This toned down version suits my son well, making it something everyone in the family can enjoy.  I have cooked it many times.  It's a simple dish, one that can be done in 15 minutes yet very tasty and goes very well with rice.  It taste really delicious especially when you scooped it directly on top of a bowl of piping hot rice as soon as it is ready and start indulging from there on!

So, coming back to Mapo Phai Kuat...while still undecided on how to do my pork ribs,  this mapo tofu recipe came to mind.  And i thought, the mapo tofu sauce should make a great marinade for steaming too. And as they say, the rest is history, that plate of ribs turned out delicious!  I added some soft silken tofu to steam them together with the ribs too.  You won't get that maillard flavors that you will find in mapo tofu but you will get ribs that are just as tasty with the sauce infused into them.  Easy peasy, fast, healthy and tasty, can't ask for more!

Recipe 

Inspired by: Her Frozen Wings with recipe from Just One Cookbook 

Ingredients

• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp ginger, minced
• 300 gms soft bone pork ribs
• 1/2 package silken tofu, slice into medium size pieces
• 2 stalks green onions, sliced

Marinade 

• 1 tbsp chilli bean paste ( doubanjiang with chilli)
• 2 tbsp mirin
• 1 tbsp miso
• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1/2 tbsp soy sauce

Thickening solution

• 1tsp corn flour

Steps

1. Mix all the ingredients for the marinade in a bowl.
2. Mix pork ribs with garlic, ginger and marinade.
3. Set aside to marinade for 30 minutes.
4. Before steaming, mix the ribs with a teaspoon of corn flour.
5. Place ribs and tofu on a steaming dish.
6. Steam over high heat for 20 minutes until pork ribs are cooked through.
7. Sprinkle sliced spring onions on top of dish before serving hot.