Tea-infused spare ribs

A friend gave me this recipe as an alternative to bak ku teh. Here it is, with my modifications.

Ingredients
1 to 2 bags of rich black chinese tea (use whatever you like, but I find oolong and even pu'er work well. Don't use green or white tea, as the flavour will not be strong enough. You can also use tea leaves instead of tea bags, the flavour will be richer)
200ml boiling water
250g pork ribs
1.5 tbsp dark soya sauce
1.5 tbsp light soya sauce
Corn flour
1 tbsp brown sugar (or normal white cane sugar)
2 tsp five spice powder
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 shallots, chopped
1 thumb-sized segment of ginger, smashed and roughly chopped
2 star anise and 3 cloves (optional)
2 tsp crushed black peppercorns

Method
1) Soak the tea bags or tea leaves in the boiling water to fully release the flavour. Set aside.
2) Marinate the ribs with the soya sauces and five spiced power for at least 20 mins, overnight works best.
3) Pat the ribs dry, and coat the ribs with corn flour. In a heated pan, add oil and lightly brown the ribs. Remove and drain on kitchen paper.
4) Drain and throw away the tea bags or tea leaves, leaving the freshly brewed tea.
5) In a saucepan, using back the oil used to brown the ribs (pour away some if there is too much oil), lightly saute the shallots, garlic and ginger.
6) Just as they are turning translucent, return the ribs to the pot, and add the star anise, cloves and peppercorns.
7) Pour in the tea. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 20 mins or until the ribs are cooked.
8) Serve with steamed rice.