This recipe intrigued me because it looked so simple and sounded as though the result might be different from the ribs, gooey and sticky, that are served in so many not-so-great restaurants. As it turned out, I was right. They are simple to prepare and taste great! Just dump the ingredients into a big plastic bag and let it rest in the refrigerator overnight, turning and squeezing the mixture around whenever you can remember to do it.
Despite what Nigella Lawson (from whom the recipe comes) says here, I think you should allow one half rack for each person and this is on the skimpy side. If you have hearty eaters, allow one complete rack for each person. I used small, Danish ribs, found frozen, in my grocery store. I allowed a day in the refrigerator for them to thaw. Nigella also doesn't make clear whether you separate the ribs or not. You can choose. But I did separate them, cutting between each bone so that all the meat on the ribs could be exposed to the marinade.
These ribs, if not like the ones usually found in those restaurants described above, are still gooey. So in order to save your pretty linen napkins, serve these with a finger bowl. It doesn't have to be a fancy one; any old bowl will do. I used plan white cereal bowls. Just fill each bowl with some warm, not hot, water just before sitting down at the table and put a folded paper napkin underneath the bowl. Then your guests can dunk their fingers in the bowl and wipe them off with the paper napkin, thereby saving your pretty linen ones. To make the bowl prettier, float a lemon slice in each one. For guests who may never have confronted a finger bowl before - and how many of us have? - it's a good idea to tell them when you sit down that they're for dunking your fingers, not for washing the ribs!
16 pork spareribs
finely grated zest and juice of 1 lime
3 T soy sauce
3 green Thai chilies or other small hot chilies, roughly chopped (or to taste; if you don't know the heat of the chilies you're using, go light on this ingredient)
1 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
2 T peanut oil
4 T molasses
2 star anise (found in the spice section of your grocery store)
1 cinnamon stick, broken into shards
1 onion, peeled and cut into eighths
1/2 C canned pineapple juice
1. Place ribs in a large plastic bag and set aside. In a bowl, combine lime zest and juice, soy sauce, chilies, ginger, oil and 2 tablespoons of the molasses. Add star anise, cinnamon, onion and pinapple juice, and stir to mix well. Add contents of bowl to bag, seal bag well and refrigerate overnight.
2. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Remove ribs from refrigerator and pour contents of bag, including marinade, into a roasting pan. Allow ribs to come to room temperature. Cover pan tightly with foil, place in oven and bake for 1 hour, turning ribs once halfway through cooking. Remove pan from oven (leave oven on), discard foil, and carefully spoon only the liquid from the pan into a sacuepan. Return roasting pan to oven and continue to bake ribs, uncovered, until you have finshed the sauce.
3. Add remaining 2 tablespoons molasses to saucepan with the marinade and place over medium heat. Cook until mixture is foamy and syrup, about 10 minutes.
4. Remove ribs from oven, pour sauce over them, turning ribs until they are well coated. Transfer to a platter and serve.
Despite what Nigella Lawson (from whom the recipe comes) says here, I think you should allow one half rack for each person and this is on the skimpy side. If you have hearty eaters, allow one complete rack for each person. I used small, Danish ribs, found frozen, in my grocery store. I allowed a day in the refrigerator for them to thaw. Nigella also doesn't make clear whether you separate the ribs or not. You can choose. But I did separate them, cutting between each bone so that all the meat on the ribs could be exposed to the marinade.
These ribs, if not like the ones usually found in those restaurants described above, are still gooey. So in order to save your pretty linen napkins, serve these with a finger bowl. It doesn't have to be a fancy one; any old bowl will do. I used plan white cereal bowls. Just fill each bowl with some warm, not hot, water just before sitting down at the table and put a folded paper napkin underneath the bowl. Then your guests can dunk their fingers in the bowl and wipe them off with the paper napkin, thereby saving your pretty linen ones. To make the bowl prettier, float a lemon slice in each one. For guests who may never have confronted a finger bowl before - and how many of us have? - it's a good idea to tell them when you sit down that they're for dunking your fingers, not for washing the ribs!
PINEAPPLE AND MOLASSES SPARERIBS
serves 4
16 pork spareribs
finely grated zest and juice of 1 lime
3 T soy sauce
3 green Thai chilies or other small hot chilies, roughly chopped (or to taste; if you don't know the heat of the chilies you're using, go light on this ingredient)
1 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
2 T peanut oil
4 T molasses
2 star anise (found in the spice section of your grocery store)
1 cinnamon stick, broken into shards
1 onion, peeled and cut into eighths
1/2 C canned pineapple juice
1. Place ribs in a large plastic bag and set aside. In a bowl, combine lime zest and juice, soy sauce, chilies, ginger, oil and 2 tablespoons of the molasses. Add star anise, cinnamon, onion and pinapple juice, and stir to mix well. Add contents of bowl to bag, seal bag well and refrigerate overnight.
2. Heat oven to 400 degrees. Remove ribs from refrigerator and pour contents of bag, including marinade, into a roasting pan. Allow ribs to come to room temperature. Cover pan tightly with foil, place in oven and bake for 1 hour, turning ribs once halfway through cooking. Remove pan from oven (leave oven on), discard foil, and carefully spoon only the liquid from the pan into a sacuepan. Return roasting pan to oven and continue to bake ribs, uncovered, until you have finshed the sauce.
3. Add remaining 2 tablespoons molasses to saucepan with the marinade and place over medium heat. Cook until mixture is foamy and syrup, about 10 minutes.
4. Remove ribs from oven, pour sauce over them, turning ribs until they are well coated. Transfer to a platter and serve.
Note: serve this with a wilted salad, like baby spinach, and roasted potatoes. For the spinach, flavor some oil in a skillet with some chopped garlic and some chili powder, toss greens until wilted and sprinkle with soy. Roast potatoes in a little peanut oil and a sprinkle of chili powder and ground cumin, all while the ribs are baking. Delicious!)
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