Sweet and Sour Vegetarian Spare Ribs
A Zhejiang vegetarian dish with a lifelike golden appearance and a well-balanced flavor profile of sweet, sour, salty, and fragrant notes.
Ingredients
fried gluten
125 g
potato (peeled, washed, and cut into 0.7 cm thick x 5 cm long strips)
150 g
cooking oil
1500 g (about 100 g used)
sugar
70 g
vinegar
50 g
cooking wine
15 g
salt
2 g
minced scallion and ginger
2 g each
sesame oil
10 g
cornstarch slurry
25 g
broth
a pinch
tomato paste
10 g
Instructions
1
Step 1
Peel and wash the potatoes, then cut them into strips 0.7 cm thick and 5 cm long. Slice the fried gluten into thick round pieces. Thread each potato strip through the center of a gluten slice and wrap it around once to form a rib shape.
2
Step 2
Heat oil in a wok. In a bowl, whisk together the sauce: sugar, vinegar, cooking wine, salt, minced scallion, minced ginger, tomato paste, cornstarch slurry, and broth. When the oil reaches medium-low heat (about 140-180 C), add the gluten-potato 'ribs' and deep-fry until golden, crisp, and cooked through, then drain. Return a small amount of oil to the wok, pour in the sauce and bring to a bubble, add the fried ribs, toss to coat evenly, drizzle with sesame oil, and serve immediately.
