Chinese Red-Cooked Meat

You can do this with cut up chicken, pork ribs, or beef ribs.

2 lbs meat
1 tablespoon Chinese Five Spice powder (found in the herbs/seasonings section at the supermarket)
3/4 c. chopped scallions, divided
1 tbl chopped fresh ginger
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup water
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup Chinese wine or dry sherry
1 tbl rice wine vinegar
2 teaspoons cornstarch dissolved in 4 teaspoons water

Spray a Dutch oven with cooking spray and heat it over high heat. Brown the meat on all sides, remove from the pan, and discard the fat that cooked out of the meat.

Lower the heat to medium-high. Add 1/2 c. of the scallions, the ginger, broth, water, soy sauce, wine, and vinegar and bring to a boil. Lower the temperature and simmer for 20 min. Return the meat to the pan, cover, and cook over medium-low heat until the meat is tender (about 45 min. for chicken - the cooking time for ribs will depend on how meaty they are).

Transfer the meat to a serving platter. Increase the heat to medium-high, add the cornstarch mixture and cook, stirring, until the sauce is thick and shiny, about 5 min.

Sprinkle the meat with the rest of the scallions and serve with the sauce alongside.

4 servings