Braised Spareribs with Sea Cucumber and Abalone

Today is the second day of Chinese New Year and this dish was part of "beginning of the year" lunch. I am submitting this post to Aspiring Bakers #15: Auspicious Dishes for CNY (January 2012) hosted by Wen of Wen's Delight here.

Happy Chinese New Year!!!

Ingredients:

• 500g spareribs, chopped into 4cm lengths
• 500g sea cucumber, rinsed and cut into thick slices
• 10 dried Chinese mushrooms, soaked to soften
• 1 tin canned abalone, rinsed and drained
• 1 tbsp chopped garlic
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp Shao Hsing Hua Tiau wine
• 200g broccoli, cut into florets

Seasoning:

• 1 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp thick soy sauce
• 1 tbsp sugar (you can increase to 2 tbsp for a slightly sweeter version)
• 3 cups water
• 1/2 cup chicken stock (if you are steaming or boiling chicken, retain the liquid stock)

Thickening:

• 1 tbsp cornflour mixed with 2 tbsp water

Method:

1. Wash spareribs and trim off excess fat. Drain and put aside.
2. Heat oil and sesame oil in a wok, and fry garlic until fragrant. Add spareribs and mushrooms. Stir fry for a while.
3. Add sea cucumber and pour in combined seasoning. Bring to a boil. Transfer to a claypot, cover and cook for about an hour until meat and sea cucumber are tender. If you do not have a claypot, reduce the heat to the work and continue to simmer until the meat and sea cucumber are tender.
4. Put in abalone and simmer for 8-10 minutes.
5. Add Shao Hsing Hua Tiau wine.
6. In the meantime, blanch broccoli then steep in ice-cold water for 5-10 minutes.
7. Dish out and garnish the dish with broccoli florets.