Fuzhou Drunken Pork Ribs

This dish comes from the city of Fuzhou, in the southeastern province of Fujian. In general, people from Fujian value richness and sweetness in their foods, and this preparation of small-cut pork ribs cooked in fermented red rice and its liquid, which the Fujianese regard as a chiew, or wine, meets that standard of richness and accounts for its name. In Fuzhou, the ribs are deep-fried before braising. I sear them, which I have found makes them tender and better able to absorb the str