TASTE
Lum shares entree, dessert recipes from holiday spread
| • | Saying mahalo with a Christmas feast |
Advertiser Staff
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Recipe collector Robbie Lum gives an annual Christmas party with a wide variety of dishes for which she prepares all year long.
Lum's husband, Milton, loves spareribs with black bean sauce, so it's become one of her specialties. She came up with a technique for making a richer gravy — parboiling the ribs, then adding the boiling water to the gravy in which the ribs finish cooking.
Use good, meaty pork spareribs.
SPARERIBS WITH BLACK BEAN SAUCE
Cut the ribs apart between the bone. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a 5- to 6-quart pot and brown the ribs. Add water to the pot to cover the ribs and parboil the ribs for 15 minutes.
In the sink, place a colander or strainer over another large pot. Pour the ribs into the colander or strainer and capture the pork stock in the pot below; reserve stock.* Rinse the ribs in cool running water; drain well and reserve.
Wash and dry the pot. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in the pot, then add the drained ribs, black bean garlic sauce, garlic, and ginger. Toss and mix altogether and cook for 2 minutes. Add pork stock to pot sufficient to cover ribs by 1 inch. Cover the pot and bring the stock to a boil. Cook at medium heat for 1 hour.
Whisk together the cornstarch and water, stirring to make a smooth slurry. Stir the cornstarch into the pot and cook, stirring, over medium heat until the gravy is slightly thickened. If you want a stronger black bean taste, stir in a little more black bean sauce.
*Note: If you don't want to use the pork stock, you can use half water and half chicken broth.
Makes 8 to 10 servings.
Lum is particularly fond of ice cream desserts. Tangy sweet dark cherries star in this one.
DARK CHERRY ICE CREAM DESSERT
Combine the first 4 ingredients in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil on medium heat; then cook for 2 minutes until thick, stirring constantly. Refrigerate to cool mixture completely.
Combine butter and honey in a medium bowl and mix until blended. Add graham cracker crumbs and mix until blended together. Press graham cracker mixture into a 9-by-13-inch pan. Bake this crust at 375 degrees for 8 minutes; cool completely, then freeze for 30 minutes.
Place 1 cup cooled cherry mixture into blender and process until smooth; reserve the rest for garnish. Place ice cream in a large bowl and fold in blended cherry mixture.
Spoon cherry ice cream mixture over graham crust; cover with foil or plastic wrap and freeze for 4 hours or until firm.
Cut ice cream dessert into squares. To serve, spoon 2 to 3 cherries over each square.
Makes 24 servings.
**Note: If you can't find frozen cherries, you can substitute canned dark sweet cherries, drained well.
