It should be obvious to regular readers of this website that I love a good pork rib. After years of looking I found one which I believe ticks all the right boxes. You can see it here.
As an alternative (and by all accounts a very good one) here’s a version of pork spare ribs from Martin Bosley, found in the Listener magazine (March 5 2011). I will be making it at the earliest opportunity and will report back as soon as I have.
From the ingredients it appears to have the right amount of sweetness (honey) and the right amount of heat (chilli). The other flavours provide the Chinese experience.
Ingredients:
- 2kg pork ribs
- 120 g honey
- 3 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 orange
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 red chilli
- 4 whole star anise
- Salt and fresh ground pepper
Method:
Wash the ribs and place in a deep roasting dish.
Put the honey, oyster sauce, orange juice and zest into a deep bowl. Chop the garlic and mix in.
Seed the chilli, then chop the flesh and add to the marinade with the star anise, a pinch of salt and a good couple of grinds of pepper.
Toss the ribs in the marinade and refrigerate for at least an hour, but preferably overnight.
Preheat the oven to 180º C . Roast the ribs in the marinade for 90 minutes, turning occasionally, making sure the honey doesn’t caramelise and burn. When the meat is tender and the ribs are glossy, remove them from the oven. Transfer to a large plate and spoon remaining sauce over the top.
Serves 4 or if you are a pork rib glutton, one!