Spare Ribs by Junko Gemmill

Spare Ribs (Asian)

This is one of my Mother’s recipes, and one of my favorite dishes growing up. I was always a carnivore, and what a great feeling it was (and still is!) to bite into the ribs with my face. Fingers got all sticky and I’d want to (ok, I did) lick off each finger. Well, I’d always start off by very politely slicing off the meat with a fork and knife, but it very quickly switched over to the finger-and-face treatment. I do like the traditional fall-off-the-bone American BBQ spare rib preparations, but oh this Asian influenced marinade and sauce is just too tasty, and I love eating this with steamed white rice!

 

Spare Ribs

oven baked pork ribs
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 4 hours
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 4 pounds pork baby back ribs cut into individual pieces
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil for greasing casserole

For the marinade

  • 1.5 teaspoon grated garlic
  • 1 teaspoon grated ginger
  • 1 cup soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
  • 2 teaspoons karashi (Japanese mustard)
  • 2 whole red chillies

For the sauce

  • 1/2 cup ketchup
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 1 tablespoon tonkatsu sauce とんかつ中濃ソース (can use Worcestershire sauce)

Instructions

  • Mix all of the marinade ingredients in a large bowl. Add the ribs to the bowl and coat all sides with the marinade. Cover the bowl and place in the refrigerator for 3 hours. Flip the ribs in the marinade periodically.
  • Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
  • Brush thin layer of vegetable oil inside a casserole (large enough to place the ribs in a single layer, without touching) on all sides. Use multiple casseroles if necessary. Place the marinated ribs in the casserole.
  • Mix all of the ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl. Brush generous amounts of sauce onto the ribs and bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
  • Flip the ribs over, brush on more sauce and bake for another 15 minutes in the oven.
  • Flip the ribs over one more time, and bake for 5 more minutes. Bake time may vary depending on the size of the ribs/meat. The juice from the cooked meat can be used as gravy.

We welcome your feedback!