Pai Kut Soh (Sweet and Sour Tamarind Pork Ribs)

I want to be a housewife. That's what an ex-colleague of yesteryears always said whenever she was stressed out at the office. Then someone would always pipe in "You think housewife very easy, ah?". Esther C, you are probably one by now. Either that or you are now a partner in one of the big four accounting firms. Whichever side you are on, I salute you!

Now my turn. I want to be a housewife. ghee...hee..hee..hee... Anyone dissenting please say something. Anything. No...No....No lah, don't...Why lah...No, no, no, Noooooo....!!!! Now, which one of you said that? I really don't know what it is like to be a housewife but judging from my mum's level of stress when my brothers and I were kids, I would say that it is just as stressful as running an accounting firm. No? OK, it is more stressful than running an accounting firm. Don't worry, I am just suffering from burnout at work and in need of some form of escapism hah...hah...hah...

Whatever it is, the grass is always greener on the other side, or so it seems. I for one have a lot of respect for housewives. You juggle the husband, the kids, the tuition rounds, the house, the budgeting, the marketing, the cooking, the baking, the cleaning or in other words, you Madam, are a multi-purpose vehicle. And not only that, you blog too. Salute!

So you are wondering, why didn't I choose to become a housewife? I really didn't have a choice to start with. Straight from the university I was propelled head on into my career path with nary a husband in sight muahahaha!!!! I once met a Tan Sri who complained about his youngest daughter. She has got this degree, that degree, all sorts of degree and an MBA. But husband, tarak (zilch)! I am sure Tan Sri need not worry too much as I am sure his daughter is happy where she is. 

Enough about my wildest fantasy and back to my cooking. This recipe comes from The Terengganu Peranakan's Cuisine. It turned out to be a very aromatic and very tasty dish. The only set back was that I should have been a bit more conservative with the bean paste (taucheow) and my dish ended up very salty. The recipe said 3 tablespoons of taucheow which I reckon means 3 level and not heaped tablespoons. I should have known better and will take note the next time I cook this dish again. 

I am certain this dish is not exclusively Terengganu peranakan as I have come across other variants. Some include ginger and ground dried chillies. Whatever it is, it is a dish worth cooking. You can also try it with sliced pork belly.

Pai Kut Soh
Recipe source : The Terengganu Peranakan's Cuisine
(My notes in red)

Ingredients :
- 500g spare ribs, cut into 4cm length (I used about 600g)
- 25g seedless asam/tamarind paste mixed with 250ml water (I used 1 tablespoon asam paste)
- 1 tsp sugar (I omitted)
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 tbsp cooking oil
- Salt and msg to taste (I omitted)

Pounded paste :
- 6 cloves garlic
- 3 tablespoom bean paste/taucheow (use 3 level tablespoon  or it will be too salty)
- 4g white pepper
- 50g palm sugar

Method :
1. Marinate spare ribs with the pounded paste for 1 hour or overnight.
2. Heat oil, stir fry garlic until fragrant.
3. Add marinated ribs and stir fry for 3 minutes.
4. Add asam paste, salt, sugar and msg.
5. Continue to simmer over medium heat until gravy thickens and spare rinds become soft and tender (It took me more than 1 hour. During the last 10 minutes, the gravy became dark and thick).
6. Serve hot.

This post is also linked to Cook-Your-Books #13 hosted by Joyce of Kitchen Flavours.