Cantonese Salt and Pepper Ribs

• Pork Ribs (2 sheets is enough for 4 as a starter or accompaniment)
• 3 tbsps good sea salt, like Maldon or Cerebas
• 2 heaped tsp szechuan peppercorns
• 1 large onion roughly chopped
• 1 red pepper chopped to about 1.5cm x 2 cm
• 1 green pepper chopped as above
• 2 or 3 cloves of garlic sliced thinly
• 1 chilli (optional)
• 3 tbsp sesame oil
• ground nut oil for frying the ribs

Directions

1. Cut the sheets of ribs into individual ribs and deep fry until cooked in the groundnut oil. It’s best to do them in batches and keep the cooked ones warm until they’re all done.
2. Put the salt and peppercorns in a dry non-stick pan and gently heat through. Then grind them roughly in a mortar and pestle. You won’t need all this mixture for this recipe but if you store it in a jar in a cool dry place you will have plenty for next time.
3. In a large wok heat the sesame oil and add the onions and peppers and fry for a couple of minutes, add the ribs (again do this in batches if they won’t all fit into the wok), and two table spoons of the salt mixture, keep tossing them so they don;t stick and then add the garlic. Adding the garlic last means that it doesn’t catch and burn and keeps the flavour better. If you like it more salty then add more of the salt/pepper mixture.