Tried this dish a few times at some restaurant. Love this so much as I'm a huge fan of yam/taro.
Taro is a root vegetable, with a mild flavor. Yam helps stabilises blood glucose level, boost immunity, promotes urination and detoxify the body. Yam's dietary fibre helps establish regular bowel movements. Yam has abundant supply of starch and protein, it makes us feel full easily, thus do not eat too much at a time.
Getting a good floury ripen taro yam is difficult as you may end up with a floury or crunchy texture. Young taro tends to be more crunchy in texture rather than floury. I won't say you can't cook with that, but the result will not be perfect.
Usually a bigger or older matured taro yam, you will see a lot of purple veins which is more likely, will be floury. A good floury taro yam breaks down and turns mushy easily, so be sure not to overcook it.
Choose yam that is hard and heavy. Taro contains calcium oxilate which causes skin irritation and itchiness. If your skin is sensitive, you may want to wear gloves while handling it.
I bought the baby pork ribs a.k.a soft bones which the bones are not very big. Requested the butcher to chop them into smaller bite pieces for me as well.
Ingredients : (serves 3-4)
400g Pork Ribs
180g Yam (cut into cube 2cm x 1cm) (weigh without skin)
1 tbsp Dried Shrimp (soaked for 15 mins)
2 pcs Dried Chinese Mushrooms (soaked & thinly sliced)
2 cloves Garlic (with skin)
4 slices Ginger
2 tbsp Cooking Oil
300ml Water
(A) Marinade :
1/2 tsp Starch
1/4 tsp Sugar
1/4 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Light Soy Sauce
Dash of White Pepper
(B) Seasoning:
1/2 tsp Sugar
Dash of White Pepper
2 tsp Oyster Sauce
2 tsp Light Soy Sauce
1/4 tsp Chinese 5 spices Powder
Salt to taste
Step by Step:
1. Rinse and clean pork ribs. Marinade with ingredients in 'A' above. Set aside for 30 mins.
2. Heat up oil in wok. Saute ginger and garlic till fragrant. Then add in dried shrimp and chinese mushroom and saute till fragrant (about 1 min)
3. Add in pork ribs and lightly let it sear for few minutes till no more raw meat color can be seen.
4. Add in all the water and seasoning in 'B' above, except salt.
5. Cover and let it braise for 25 mins. Stirring occasionally in between.
6. Add yam and stir till well combined. Make sure yam pieces are soaking in the sauce so that they can absorb water and easily soften. Cover and let it simmer for another 10-15 mins until yam turns tender and soft.
Add more water if necessary, as yam absorbs quite alot of water.
(cooking time varies depending on the thickness of the yam cut size)
7. Salt to taste. Dish up and serve.
Happy Cooking.