Chinese Sticky Ribs

During my self-appointed day of cooking on Whidbey Island, I asked if anyone had a dinner request. Without missing a beat Minh-Hai piped up, “Chinese Sticky Ribs!” I like a challenge.

I’d never made sticky ribs before so I had to defer to the experts. But some of the more traditional recipes called for the likes of Chinese rose water, plum sauce and dried oysters, ingredients that the nearby Casey’s Red Apple probably didn’t carry. Luckily Cook’s Country came to the rescue.

Their recipe requires braising the ribs for a few hours in a flavorful mixture of soy sauce, sugar, fresh ginger, garlic, hoisin sauce, sherry and cilantro sprigs. After the meat is fall-off-the-bone tender, it gets brushed with a sticky, sweet glaze followed by a few flips under the broiler until deep mahogany in color.

We were on island time so it didn’t matter that the ribs reached the table well after 9pm. Despite the crappy lighting not doing them justice in this photo, you can trust me when I say this recipe is legit. The outside of the meat had those lovely sticky charred bits while the tender inside barely required chewing. They were so addictively delicious that I found myself gnawing on the bones well after the meat was gone.

As we were eating, fingers and faces covered in sticky glaze, Minh-Hai said, “I just dreamt this up and here it is!” That’s exactly what cooking is all about.

Chinese Sticky Ribs
If you don’t have dry sherry on hand, use one part apple cider vinegar and one part water. I wasn’t able to find hot pepper jelly but apple jelly worked beautifully. Since some of the heat was missing, I also upped the spice by adding a tablespoon or two of Sriracha sauce. Next time I’ll add even more! Slightly tweaked from a Cook’s Country recipe.

2 racks St. Louis style or baby back ribs (2-1/2 to 3-1/2 lbs each)

1 cup hoisin sauce

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup dry sherry (or a mix of 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar and 1/4 cup water)

1 6-inch piece ginger, peeled and sliced into rounds

1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper

30 sprigs fresh cilantro stems (reserve leaves for glaze), chopped

8 scallions, white parts only, cut into 1-inch pieces (reserve green parts for garnish)
Optional: extra Sriracha or chili sauce (I added 2 tablespoons)

Glaze:

1 10-oz jar hot red pepper jelly or apple jelly

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro leaves

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Reserved scallion greens, thinly sliced
Extra Sriracha or chili sauce to taste

Adjust the oven rack to the middle and heat to 350°F. 

Remove the silver skin from the back of the ribs. Combine the rib marinade in a large roasting pan. Add the spareribs and coat well. Cover with heavy foil and cook, meat side down, 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until just tender. Remove ribs to a plate.

Strain the cooking liquid and put 3 cups into a large nonstick skillet. Skim the fat. Add the jelly and vinegar. Simmer over medium high heat until reduced to 2 cups. Off the heat, stir in the cilantro and cayenne (and Sriracha or chili sauce, if using).

Heat the broiler (don't raise the oven rack!). Pour enough water into the roasting pan to cover the bottom. Fit pan with roasting rack, arrange ribs on rack and brush with glaze. Broil until the ribs begin to brown, flip over, and brush with more glaze. Continue flipping, glazing and broiling every few minutes until the ribs are deep mahogany (I only needed to do this 3 times). Move to a cutting board, tent with foil and let rest 10 minutes. Slice, glaze again if desired, and garnished with scallion greens. Serve with sticky rice and lots of napkins!

Fall-Off-the-Bone Braised Short Ribs

If you’re cooking a birthday dinner for friends and need something a bit special and positively delicious, look no further.

I’ve had slow-braised short ribs on the brain ever since the weather turned chilly, so when our friend Casey’s birthday rolled around a few weekends ago, I was delighted to have an excuse to buy 6 pounds of meat.

A sweet Asian-style braise was my first inclination but since I had my heart set on serving polenta, red wine made a lot more sense. So I put my faith in Anne Burrell (Secrets of a Restaurant Chef) for guidance. Her clever technique calls for pureeing a Mirepoix prior to sautéing so that it easily melts right into the sauce. Brilliant.

While this dish takes close to 4 hours from start to finish, you’ll only need to put in about 60 minutes of active kitchen time before letting the oven work its magic. This is slow food at its best.
 

Fall-Off-the-Bone Braised Short Ribs
This dish is perfect for impressing company or for a lazy Sunday. My favorite accompaniment is creamy polenta (shown here) but I'm sure your trusted mashed potato recipe would also do it justice. Adapted from an Anne Burrell recipe.

Serves 8

6 lbs bone-in short ribs
Kosher salt
High heat vegetable oil
1 large yellow onion, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 ribs celery, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 carrots, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
3 large cloves garlic, smashed
1 cup tomato paste
1 bottle hearty red wine
2 cups beef broth
1 bunch fresh thyme, tied with kitchen string
2 bay leaves

Season the short ribs generously with salt. In a large stock pot (one that’s large enough to accommodate all the meat and vegetables), heat a layer of high-heat vegetable oil over high heat. Working in batches, add the short ribs and brown very well, 3-4 minutes per side (do not overcrowd).

Preheat oven to 375˚F.

While the short ribs are browning, puree the onions, celery, carrots and garlic in a food processor until it forms a coarse paste. 
 
After searing on all sides, remove the ribs from the pan. Drain the fat and add fresh oil to coat the bottom. Add the pureed vegetables and season generously with salt. Brown the vegetables until dark and a browned film forms on the bottom of the pan, approximately 8 minutes. Scrape up the browned bits and let them reform. Scrape them up once again and add the tomato paste; cook for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the wine and scrape the bottom of the pan (lower the heat if things start to burn). Continue cooking until the mixture has been reduced by half.

Return the short ribs to the pan and add 2 cups of beef broth or just enough to barely cover the meat. Add the thyme bundle and bay leaves. Cover the pan and place in the preheated oven for 3-3 1/2 hours, turning the ribs over halfway through the cooking time. Check periodically during the cooking process and add more beef broth or water, if needed. Remove the lid during the last 20 minutes to allow browning and to let the sauce reduce. The meat should be incredibly tender when done.

Before serving, taste the sauce and adjust seasoning if necessary (I removed the ribs, added salt, stirred well and returned the ribs to the sauce). Serve with the braising sauce.