Wash the rice, add four times the usual amount of water, then pour the marinated ribs into the pot. The dish would be ready once the ribs were cooked.
The ribs were flavorful and tender, falling off the bone without being greasy. The broth was perfectly seasoned, making it an ideal pairing with rice.
While Guan Shan kept both pots going, Ji Huan began to prepare the next dish: sweet and sour pork tenderloin.
She washed the pork tenderloin, removed the silver skin, and cut the meat into strips of equal length and width. She placed them in a porcelain bowl, adding egg white, water, all-purpose flour, and pea starch, then mixed it all together by hand.
The coarsely-produced pea starch—made by soaking, grinding, filtering, and settling the peas—seemed better suited for frying meat. It resulted in a crispy texture that was just right, not as hard and brittle as cornstarch.
