Asian Style Ribs
Since I was a kid, I have always loved the ribs from Chinese restaurants. The tangy, sweet Char Siu sauce beats out every other barbecue sauce in my mind. After a lot of trial and error, I think I’ve come up with a recipe that comes close. The only thing I don’t use is the red food coloring that is often found in authentic recipes—I’m just not into that. It’s a great dish to cook on the grill for an end of summer party.
INGREDIENTS (serves 6-8)
2 racks baby back ribs
Chinese five spice powder
salt
2 ziploc bags
MARINADE
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons duck sauce
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
4 garlic cloves, minced
¼ teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
½ teaspoon mustard powder
1 teaspoon fish sauce
GLAZE
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons duck sauce
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
¼ teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
½ teaspoon mustard powder
1 teaspoon fish sauce
GARNISH
3 teaspoons scallions, finely chopped
1 teaspoon green wasabi sesame seeds
PREPARATION
Remove the thin membrane from each rib rack. Generously season the ribs with salt and Chinese five spice powder.
In a bowl, combine all of the marinade ingredients. Cut the rib racks in half so that they can fit into a Ziploc. Put one ½-rack each into a Ziploc. Pour half of the marinade into one, half into the other. Close the bags tightly and massage the ribs to make sure the marinade covers throughout. Place in fridge overnight.
When ready to grill, remove ribs from fridge 30 minutes before at room temperature.
Heat grill to medium heat. Place the ribs on the grill bone side down and cook for 2 hours on indirect heat.
In a bowl, combine all of the glaze ingredients. Split the glaze into two bowls, one for glazing and one for serving. Start brushing the ribs with the glaze during the last half-hour of cooktime. Keep an eye on them because the sugars in the glaze can burn easily. Glaze every ten minutes or so.
After two hours, test the ribs to see if they are at 185 degrees internal temperature. Once they are, remove from grill and allow to rest for ten minutes. While resting, in a small saucepan, bring the remainder of the glaze to a simmer. Set aside.
To serve, cut the racks into individual ribs and place on platter. Garnish with scallions and green wasabi sesame seeds. Serve with the remainder of the glaze on the side. I like to serve it with a nice kohlrabi slaw.