Vietnamese Braised Pork Ribs

Photo

The happiest Vietnamese grandmother can put together a meal for no more than $5--but something else is happening: diners are learning that you can make a more economical meal at a lower culinary level. Sure, these dishes can have layers of texture, flavors and spices--and you still need a cookbook, and a weekend to prepare it--but very few of these dishes involve ground beef, or clumsy, difficult-to-briskly braise vegetables. And few (if any) will cost you more than$10.

Hacienda was started by New York food stylist Mike Franey, who spent much of his youth in Little Saigon in southern Vietnam, and brings his sense of time-tested, homey cooking to the kitchen on Flushing Avenue. One dish his co-owner, chef Martin Pak, recently helped him test was a Vietnamese braised pork ribs: Apples, shallots, mint and mint leaves are stewed in an inky broth, and finally tenderized with salt and peppers. Flavorful, gorgeous and cheap—one big bite is a bargain at $8.

RECIPE

Braised pork ribs with apples, shallots, mint and mint leaves

Serves 6-8

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 2 hours

Ingredients

• 2 pounds pork ribs (bone-in)
• 3/4 cup hoisin sauce
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon minced ginger
• 2 tablespoons vinegar
• 1 tablespoon grated orange peel
• 2 oranges, sliced thin
• 2 tablespoons minced chives

Sea salt

Ground black pepper

Orange slices and/or mint leaves, for garnish

Directions

1. Heat the oven to 275°F. Pat the pork ribs dry with a cloth. In a heavy skillet over medium-high heat, bring the hoisin, orange juice, soy sauce, honey, garlic, ginger, vinegar, orange peel and orange slices to a boil. Stir in the pork ribs. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer the ribs for about 2 hours or until the pork is tender and well browned on all sides. While the ribs are cooking, make the collard greens. Combine the collard greens, 1/2 cup of salt and 1/4 cup of sugar in a medium bowl. Cover and refrigerate until needed. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the collard greens until tender, about 8 minutes. Drain and cool. Drain again. Taste the collard greens and add additional salt and sugar if needed. Transfer the collard greens to a serving bowl. Stir the mustard greens, 1/2 cup orange juice, and the salt and sugar into the cooked collard greens. Toss the collard greens with the cooled collard greens and capers, toasted pine nuts, scallions and mint leaves. Serve with the ribs.
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5. This article was originally published in Viet Soon magazine.