Suancai Stew with Pork Ribs

Suancai stew with pork ribs is a northeastern home classic of locally-fermented sour cabbage simmered with pork ribs and glass noodles or potato, the broth milky-white, tangy and savoury, the ribs tender and deeply flavoured.

The dish grows from the long northeastern winter's tradition of storing vegetables, when every home ferments suancai to see out the cold; simmering it with ribs and glass noodles is both warming against the chill and a fine match for rice, the most homely taste in northeastern memory.

Served in a generous pot, diners first sip the tangy savoury broth, then work through the ribs, suancai and noodles with rice or a glass of baijiu, the heartiest way to share a northeastern winter meal.

The distinctive tang of fermented sour cabbage, the fall-apart ribs and the milky broth are the clearest marks of this northeastern homely dish.