Passion Fruit and Pineapple Sauce Spare Ribs

This passion fruit and pineapple juice pork ribs dish is a surprising and innovative flavorful creation I encountered while traveling in Nanning. After trying the local passion fruit pork ribs in Nanning, a core passion fruit producing area, I added homemade pineapple juice to elevate the flavor. The golden, translucent passion fruit shells serve as a delicate container, nestling the ribs, smothered in a rich sauce and sprinkled with white sesame seeds. The appearance alone is breathtaking. The sweetness of my homemade pineapple juice blends beautifully with the tartness of the passion fruit, softening the rich sauce flavor of the ribs and allowing the dual fruity notes to spread across the palate. This dish boasts a refreshing tropical fruit flavor over the local original. Bromelain simmers the ribs until they are tender and flavorful, and each bite offers a delicate balance of sweet and sour, salty, and savory, creating a unique flavor experience. Although the price of this dish in the local area is a bit pricey - almost a hundred dollars, once you have tasted it, you will know that it is worth the money. Once you have tasted it, you will never forget it!

Ingredients

400g spareribs
2 pineapples, 50g pineapple juice (optional) (20g marinated pork ribs, 30g sauce)
4 fragrant fruits (yellow-skinned and purple-brown-skinned. The purple-brown variety has a higher acidity, while the yellow-skinned variety is sweeter and has a purer sweetness. If you're looking for a sweet flavor, the yellow-skinned passion fruit is recommended.)
a teaspoon of table salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
5 slices of ginger (3 slices for marinating ribs, 2 slices for boiling ribs)
2 tablespoons cooking wine (1 tablespoon for marinating ribs, 1 tablespoon for stir-frying ribs)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
20g yellow rock sugar
10g sugar (Adjust according to the passion fruit variety and sweetness)
Cooked white sesame seeds (for decoration)

Steps

Peel and core the pineapple, cut into small pieces, squeeze the juice with a juicer, and put the excess into a sealed bag and freeze it for later use.
Wash the passion fruit, cut four in half, scoop out the flesh with a spoon, and strain through a strainer to extract the pure juice (about 50g). If you don't mind the taste of the passion fruit seeds, you don't need to strain them. Leaving the seeds in will enhance the texture and aesthetic of the dish, and is recommended for entertaining guests (my pet doesn't like them, so I strain them out).
Place the spare ribs in a bowl and add 3 tablespoons of cornstarch. Rub the ribs repeatedly with your hands to remove any blood or impurities. Rinse with clean water 3 times and drain thoroughly.
Marinate the ribs In a large bowl, place the drained ribs in a large bowl. Add 3 slices of ginger, 20ml cooking wine, 2g white pepper, and 3g salt. Add 25g passion fruit juice and 20g pineapple juice. Mix well with your hands, cover with plastic wrap, and marinate in the refrigerator for 4 hours (the longer the marinating time, the richer the flavor).
Place the trimmed passion fruit shells on a plate and set aside.
Place a wok over medium heat and add 20ml of cooking oil. Heat the oil to 60% (slightly smokey), then stir-fry until both sides are golden brown. 1. Add 20g of rock sugar and stir-fry with a spatula until the sugar melts and turns amber (pay attention to the heat to avoid burning). Stir-fry until each piece of pork rib is evenly coated with the sugar. 2. Add 1 tablespoon of cooking wine, drizzling it from the side of the wok to release the aroma. 3. Next, add 20ml of light soy sauce and 15ml of oyster sauce and continue stir-frying for 2 minutes to allow the ribs to fully absorb the flavors.
Transfer the stir-fried pork ribs and broth to a pressure cooker, cover the ribs, add hot water (hot water will soften the ribs), and add two slices of ginger. Cover the pot and cook over high heat until the broth boils, then reduce to low. Cook for 12 minutes, then turn off the heat and allow the pressure to drop. If using a regular pot, cook over medium-high heat for about 40 minutes.
After the pressure in the pressure cooker has naturally dropped, open the lid, pour the ribs and broth back into the wok, and cook over high heat until the broth thickens.
When the soup becomes thick, turn down the heat and add 30g pineapple juice, 25g passion fruit juice (50g passion fruit pulp), 10g sugar (adjust according to the passion fruit variety and sweetness), stir-fry quickly and evenly, so that the surface of the ribs is coated with a layer of thick sauce with fruity aroma, and turn off the heat.
Place one sparerib in each shell and evenly spoon the remaining sauce from the pot over the spareribs. Finally, sprinkle with cooked white sesame seeds. This delicious and flavorful passion fruit and pineapple sauce spareribs is ready.
If you don't mind the taste of passion fruit seeds, you don't need to filter them. Keeping the seeds can increase the graininess and appearance of the dish. It is recommended to keep them when entertaining guests (my pet doesn't like them, so I filter them)
Random Thoughts: About Pineapple Juice I. Preparation and Storage of Pineapple Juice After squeezing the pineapple through a juicer to separate the juice, the pure pineapple juice can be placed in a sealed bag, quickly frozen, and stored in the refrigerator for easy access. This method effectively preserves the flavor and nutrients of the pineapple juice. II. Uses of Pineapple Juice 1. Marinating Meats: Pineapple juice is rich in bromelain, which effectively breaks down the fiber structure of meats like chicken, pork, and steak, making them more tender and flavorful. The sweet and sour flavor of pineapple juice also adds a unique flavor layer to meats, making the marinated meat taste and flavorful after cooking. 2. Making Sauces/Dressings: It can be used in salad dressings to add a refreshing fruity aroma to salads; it can also be used in barbecue sauces to impart a sweet and sour complex flavor to grilled foods; and it can also be used to create sweet and sour sauces to accompany fried dishes. Furthermore, adding pineapple juice to curries and Thai dishes can enhance the overall flavor by adding a fruity layer. 3. Baking Pairing: Adding pineapple juice to desserts like cakes, cookies, and jellies enhances the sweet and sour taste, enriching the flavor while also bringing a unique tropical aroma, making your baked creations even more appealing. Finally, pineapple juice and passion fruit are a perfect sweet and sour combination. The sweetness of pineapple juice, imbued with tropical fruit notes, and the tartness of passion fruit, laced with a unique seed aroma, combine to create a sweet-sour flavor that balances the acidity and enhances the sweetness. The refreshing pineapple flavor is followed by the rich passion fruit flavor, creating a rich, yet non-cloying fruity aroma.