Char Siu Pork Ribs

I am a huge fan of Chinese char siu pork. If you have never had it, it is basically a reddish colored pork (primarily from red food coloring which is optional), and perfectly seasoned from things like Chinese five spice and other wonderful ingredients. So this past week, pork ribs were on sale and I knew my kids would love for me to go out into the cold, and smoke some ribs, but that was not about to happen, especially with a lot of people kidding bad colds around these parts. So instead I came up with two batches of ribs, one Chinese char siu style and the other using a rub from Dizzy Pig.

These almost fall apart Chinese char siu pork ribs will have you smacking your lips and licking those fingers.

Let’s get started.

Ingredients:

• 1 rack of pork ribs, membrane removed from the backside
• 1/2 cup of soy sauce
• 1/2 cup of granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup hoisin sauce
• 1/4 cup of Chinese Shaoxing rice wine
• 1 1/2 tsp Chinese Five Spice (a little goes a long way)
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp fresh minced ginger
• 1 tbsp dark Sesame oil
• 1/4 cup of honey
• 1/4 cup of ketchup
• 1/4 water
• 1 tbsp red food coloring, optional
• Cooked Jasmine rice, optional

I know this sounds like a bunch of stuff, but most should be stocked in your household for standard Asian style cooking.

I like to cut my ribs into 4 rib segments so that they fit nicely into a sealable bag.

Start by making the marinade. To a mixing bowl add everything but the honey, ketchup, water, and food coloring.

Give a good mix, then add your ribs to a sealable plastic bag. Pour the marinade into the bag, seal, and gently toss the marinade around so it penetrates all of the ribs. Place into your refrigerator for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight.

Preheat your oven to 275 degrees. We are going to cook these ribs low and slow, then increase the heat over time.

During this time, take the ribs out and set the bag onto the counter for about 20 minutes or so to take off the chill.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and using tongs, remove the ribs from the bag and let any excess marinade fall into the bag. Reserve the marinade as this is going to cook down with the sauce.

Place the ribs in the oven and cook for about 2 hours. About 1 1/2 hours in, crank the heat to 350 degrees.

Take the reserved marinade and add it to a pot on the stove. Add the water, ketchup, red food coloring, and honey and give a good stir. Cook this on medium-low heat until it has reduced by half, and adjust the heat to low if necessary. This is going to be our glazing mixture to finish the ribs.

Take a look at the ribs. Once they begin to slightly caramelize (you know how you like your ribs), slide the oven rack out so you have access to the baking sheet, and begin brushing on the glaze, all over the ribs. Return back into the oven, cook for a few more minutes, then repeat with the glaze. Keep an eye on them as you do not want the glaze to burn. Repeat this a few times, then once you are satisfied, remove them from the oven, finish with another brushing of the cooked glaze mixture, and plate and serve.

Serve alongside cooked rice, and you have yourself one heck of a meal. If you are looking to jazz up some ribs, and want to go to a great Chinese route, give these a try, I’m almost certain you are going to love them. Hope you enjoy!