This braised pork ribs and taro stew is one of those lesser known comfort food dishes that our family used to make during the colder months. That said, I would have this pork and taro stew for dinner anytime of the year. It’s not only a simple dish to make, we just love taro root. We have a taro cake recipe on the blog already, but this will only be the second taro dish that we add to our archives. We clearly need more of them!
One very important point about this braised pork ribs dish is that you have to use the larger variety of taro, rather than the smaller roots, which are the size of a kiwi or small potato. These smaller taro roots have less flavor and are, well…a bit slimy. Yes, they have a bit of a gooey texture that reminds me of okra; it’s best to avoid them when making this recipe.
The large taro root has a wonderfully flaky texture similar to Yucca, but has a distinct and unique flavor that when coupled with the sauce from the braised pork ribs is as comforting as it gets. You can serve this as one of a few dishes if you’re going family style, or have it as a one-pot stew for dinner and plenty of leftovers for lunch.
If you’re feeling a little bored with your meals, then go out to the market and discover how awesome taro root is!
Recipe Instructions
Combine the ribs with the marinade ingredients (shaoxing wine, dark soy sauce, salt, and sugar) and marinate for 20 minutes.
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a wok or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the smashed ginger (a cleaver is a great tool for smashing!) and sear the ribs for 1 minute on each side until browned.
Turn the heat down to medium and add the shallots and garlic.
Stir-fry for another minute and add the Shaoxing wine, ground bean sauce, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, salt, five spice powder, white pepper, and sesame oil. Stir-fry the ribs for another minute.
Add the low sodium chicken stock, bring to a boil, and adjust the heat to a slow simmer.
Cover and cook for 45 minutes, checking and stirring the mixture every 10 minutes. The ribs should be submerged in the liquid at the beginning and the sauce should reduce slightly but the braised pork ribs should still look a little soupy at the end of the 45 minutes so add more water or chicken stock if needed.
While the ribs are cooking, heat ½ cup vegetable oil to 300 degrees F in a wok or cast iron pan and add the taro root pieces, spreading them out so there is a single layer.
Fry on each side until they just start to turn brown and have a slight crust on them, about a minute on each side.
Drain the excess oil and toss the taro with a large pinch of salt. This process give the taro a light crust and prevents it from becoming mushy after cooking with the ribs.
Once the ribs have been simmering for 45 minutes, they should be tender. There should be quite a bit of standing liquid remaining. Add the taro, and gently fold the mixture together to coat the taro pieces with liquid.
Let cook for another 15 minutes, giving everything a gentle stir every 2-3 minutes. If the liquid dries up completely, add another cup of water or chicken stock (the taro will absorb it).
Try a piece of taro and check for doneness. It should be flaky and cooked through. Cook longer if you want the taro softer. Stir in the scallions and plate!
Serve this braised pork ribs and taro stew with plenty of steamed white rice!
Braised Pork Ribs with Taro
Ingredients
To marinate the pork ribs:
- 3 pounds pork ribs (1.3 kg, cut into 2 to 3-inch pieces)
- 1 tablespoon shaoxing wine
- ½ teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
For the rest of the dish:
- 2 tablespoons oil plus ½ cup
- 1 slice ginger (smashed with a cleaver)
- ¼ cup shallots (minced)
- 6 cloves garlic (smashed lightly)
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- 2 tablespoons ground bean sauce
- 2 teaspoons hoisin sauce
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/8 teaspoon five spice powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- 4 cups low sodium chicken stock
- 2 pounds large taro root (900g, cut into 2 to 3-inch pieces)
- 2 scallions (cut into 2-inch pieces)
Instructions
- Combine the ribs with the marinade ingredients and marinate for 20 minutes. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a wok or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the smashed ginger and sear the ribs for 1 minute on each side until browned.
- Turn the heat down to medium and add the shallots and garlic. Stir-fry for another minute and add the Shaoxing wine, ground bean sauce, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, salt, five spice powder, white pepper, and sesame oil. Stir-fry the ribs for another minute.
- Add the chicken stock, bring to a boil, and adjust the heat to a slow simmer. Cover and cook for 45 minutes, checking and stirring the mixture every 10 minutes. The ribs should be submerged in the liquid at the beginning and the sauce should reduce slightly but the braised pork ribs should still look a little soupy at the end of the 45 minutes so add more water or chicken stock if needed.
- While the ribs are cooking, heat ½ cup vegetable oil to 300 degrees F in a wok or cast iron pan and add the taro, spreading the pieces out so there is a single layer. Fry on each side until they just start to turn brown and have a slight crust on them, about a minute on each side. Drain the excess oil and toss the taro with a large pinch of salt. This process give the taro a light crust and prevents it from becoming mushy after cooking with the ribs.
- Once the ribs have been simmering for 45 minutes, they should be tender. There should be quite a bit of standing liquid remaining. Add the taro, and gently fold the mixture together to coat the taro pieces with liquid. Let cook for another 15 minutes, giving everything a gentle stir every 2-3 minutes. If the liquid dries up completely, add another cup of water or chicken stock (the taro will absorb it).
- Try a piece of taro and check for doneness. It should be flaky and cooked through. Cook longer if you want the taro softer. Stir in the scallions and serve.
Could you substitute daikon for the taro? Can’t wait to try this!
Yes, you can. Just know you don’t need to pan-fried daikon, and the cooking time for daikon is much longer.
Do you think I could fry the taro pieces on a pan? For the sake of my calories haha. So far the meat sauce is super good!
Yes, you can.
great site – I’ve used several of your recipes. I have a technique question related to this pork/taro recipe as opposed to the pork-belly/bamboo recipe: In the later, you call for first blanching the pork belly, but you don’t call for that here. Why? is that solely because of the cut of meat and you want to get some of the fat out of the pork belly? or is it for some other reason? Thanks!
Hi Matt, I usually don’t blanch the meat if I have to marinate it first.
Can I substitute with potato?
Yes, you can, Susan :-)
My family also makes this dish with the shortcut of using leftover roast duck in place of the spareribs. We occasionally add daikon or lotus root to the braise.
There are definitely many different ways to cook a great dish :-)
Made this excellent recipe tonight, just for myself! The only substitution was douban jiang for bean sauce. I love big taro yu tou so much, and it was absolutely delicious cooked this way. I had fun cutting up the rack of ribs too.
HI Andi, I love spicy food. I bet doubanjiang worked great for this dish.
Excellent recipe! I only had the small taro that I had to use but will be using the regular ones next time. Will definitely make again, thank you!
FYI I used the instant pot, meat/stew for 5 minutes which cut down the cooking time. Dinner in 30mins!
That’s really helpful! Thank you for sharing.
So glad you enjoyed it, christine.