Asian BBQ Pork Ribs

"I want my baby-back, baby-back, baby-back ribs"
- Fat Bastard (Austin Powers : The Spy Who Shagged Me 1999)

Ribs are such messy, delicious fun. And you can't go wrong with a sticky, sweet and well flavoured marinade. This is a recipe for a chinese styled bbq taste, but really you can put anything in the marinade that you have on hand. Things that are great: Worchester sauce, tomato paste, brown sugar, crushed garlic, sesame oil, a splash of port etc. Just keep in mind that you need something sweet in there to help with the caramelization process if what you're after is a sticky sauce.

INGREDIENTS
1.2kg pork spare ribs
4 tblsp hoisin sauce
2 tblsp plum sauce/jam
2 tblsp honey
2 tblsp soy sauce
2 tblsp dark soy sauce/ABC kecap manis sauce
1 tblsp chinese 5 spice
1 tblsp paprika/chilli powder
1 tblsp vinegar
1 tblsp chinese cooking wine or sherry



Get a nice big bowl and mix all the sauce ingredients together first. Then add the pork and coat all the pieces well. Let it marinade for as long you can, preferably overnight but a few hours will do too. It'll still taste great even if you don't have any time to marinade beforehand.


Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Spread the marinated ribs on a baking tray and bake for 1hr. At half time turn the ribs over and baste with the sauce collecting around the tray. If you find that too much liquid is seeping out, you should drain it into a small pot to make into a gravy. This will prevent the baking process from turning into a boiling/poaching process.

After the hour is up you should have nicely browned, slightly sticky carmelized pork ribs that are tender and full of flavour. Enjoy!

We served this with some baked small potatoes, carrots and sweet potatoes that were cooked for the same time and temperature as the ribs.