Cantonese Rib Food

1-2-3-4-5 RIBS

Steps:

• Select meaty ribs, and have the butcher cut them into 1.5" to 2" long pieces. Rinse, and pat dry with a paper towel.
• Preheat a wok until it starts to smoke lightly (see my post on how to prevent food from sticking to a wok). Add 2 tablespoons oil, along with the ginger slices. Over medium heat, fry the ginger for 1 minute. Add the ribs, turn up the heat to high, and take a few minutes to brown both sides.
• Turn down the heat, and add in 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine, 2 tablespoons light soy sauce, 3 tablespoons Chinese black vinegar, 4 tablespoons sugar, and 5 tablespoons water. Stir and mix everything well. Turn up the heat to bring it to a boil.
• Once boiling, cover and reduce the heat to medium/low. Simmer for 25 minutes (20 minutes if the ribs are less meaty than mine). Halfway through the process, check to make sure the liquid is not drying up. If so, reduce the heat further and add in a little more water if needed.
• After 25 minutes of simmering, remove the lid. There should be quite a bit of liquid left. Time to turn up the heat to reduce the sauce and make the ribs glisten. With the heat on high, continuously stir and toss the ribs. This process takes only a couple of minutes. Reduce the liquid until there is ¼ cup of liquid left and the ribs are gleaming with sauce! Serve immediately.

CANTONESE RIB

Steps:

• Cut rack of ribs into individual ribs. Place in resealable plastic bag or shallow pan. Combine soy sauce, cilantro, hoisin sauce, sherry, sugar, garlic, ginger and crushed red pepper in a small bowl. Mix well. Pour over ribs and turn to coat well. Refrigerate 4 hours to overnight. Preheat oven to 350°F. Place a rack inside a shallow flameproof baking dish. Remove ribs from marinade; reserving marinade. Place ribs on rack and place in oven. Carefully pour 2 cups of water into the bottom of the baking dish. Roast ribs for 90 minutes until well browned and tender. Pour reserved marinade into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for at least 5 minutes. After the ribs have cooked for 30 minutes, turn and baste with the marinade every 15 minutes. When the ribs are done, brush them with the honey and broil for 3 to 5 minutes until crispy.

CHINESE-STYLE BARBECUED RIBS

Steps:

• In a food processor or blender, mince garlic and scallions. Add hoisin, ketchup, honey, soy sauce, rice wine or vodka, rice vinegar and five-spice powder. Process until well blended. Taste for sweetness; the mixture should be sweet like barbecue sauce, not candy. Adjust the taste with honey, soy sauce and vinegar.
• Set aside 1/3 cup marinade for basting. Transfer remaining marinade to a container or pan large enough to hold the ribs, or to large resealable plastic bags. Add ribs and turn until well coated. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, and up to 2 days, turning occasionally in the marinade.
• Heat oven to 300 degrees. Set up a rimmed baking sheet (or two) with an oven-safe wire rack that fits inside, the kind you'd use for cooling cookies. Line the bottoms of the pans with foil or nonstick baking mats. Place the racks inside the pans and place the empty pans on the bottom rack of the oven. Pour in hot water until it comes about halfway up the sides of the pan. (Do not skip the water: The steam helps cook the meat to the right tenderness.)
• When the oven is hot, remove the ribs from the marinade and place on the racks, meaty side up. Bake without basting, 1 hour for baby back ribs, 2 hours for St. Louis style ribs. Check the water level occasionally to make sure it hasn't cooked off.
• Remove ribs from the oven and raise the oven temperature to 450 degrees. Pour off any water from the baking sheet and return the ribs to the racks. (Alternatively, you can finish the ribs on a medium-hot grill; see below.)
• Return ribs to the oven and roast (or grill), basting 2 or 3 times with reserved marinade, for 20 to 30 minutes (less time for baby backs, more for spareribs). Watch the ribs carefully to make sure that the edges don't burn, and don't baste them too close to the end; they should be dry and sticky, not wet on the surface.
• Use a big knife to cut between the bones, making sure that each rib has meat on both sides. Mound on a platter, sprinkle with scallions and cilantro, and serve immediately.

CHINESE BBQ SPARE RIBS (燒排骨)

Steps:

• Create cuts between the bones and along the thick side of the ribs so that the meat takes on the flavors better and that it cooks faster.
• Rub garlic salt onto the ribs. Make sure to cover all surfaces on both sides. Pay special attention to the slits that you made earlier.
• In a medium bowl, mix sugar, salt, white pepper, ketchup, cooking wine, five-spice powder, and red food coloring (which is optional). Set aside for the next step.
• Place ribs in a tray lined with a plastic sheet and spread the marinade thinly onto both sides of the ribs. Wrap ribs with the plastic sheet when finished.
• For the glaze, you can use maltose or honey. Brush it over the spare ribs and they'll glisten and taste great.
• Remove ribs from the refrigerator and allow them to rest for about an hour. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
• After 30-35 minutes of baking, remove the ribs and brush the glaze of choice onto them.
• Once the ribs have been baking for about 45 minutes in total, take it out and let it rest for 10 minutes.

GRILLED SPARERIBS CANTONESE

Steps:

• Place ribs in a large shallow pan.
• Mix together marinade ingredients; pour marinade over ribs.
• Cover and marinate, turning occasionally, for 1 to 2 hrs or up to 24 hrs, refrigerated.
• Bring to room temperature before cooking.
• Remove ribs from marinade, reserving marinade.
• Place ribs on an oiled grill 4 to 6 inches from the off-set coals.
• Grill ribs indirectly, turning occasionally and brushing with marinade, until crusty outside and tender juicy inside, about 1 to 1-1/2 hours.

CANTONESE PORK SPARERIBS (BBQ)

Steps:

• Prepare ribs by removing the membrane.
• Combine all the marinade ingredients in a sauce pan and warm slightly so sugar dissolves and corn starch incorporates.
• Pour over ribs and marinade in refrigerator for 3-4 days. Turn ribs occasionally to ensure even marinating.
• Remove ribs and bring to room temperature. Reserve the marinade.
• Heat grill/smoker to 200-225 degrees F.
• Cook ribs on grill using indirect heat method. Use apple, cherry, pecan, or mesquite wood for smoke. Cooking time should be around 1.5 - 2 hours. Turn and brush with marinade occasionally. Ribs are done when bones pull free from meat when twisted.
• Combine ingredients for glaze.
• Remove ribs and brush with glaze. Let stand for 15 minutes. Sprinkle with sesame seeds just before serving.