Sticky Asian Pork Ribs

This is what we ate for our Chinese New Year reunion dinner. This pork ribs dish doesn't have a special auspicious or symbolic meaning to eat for Chinese New Year, but I must say it is a nice and luxurious delicacy to enjoy for this special occasion. 

Surprise! Surprise! This Asian pork ribs recipe actually originates from Donna Hay magazine! This Aussie-Asian fusion recipe originally uses beef ribs but I have replaced them with pork ribs instead. This recipe is super easy to cook. All I need is the ingredients, a oven-safe dish and an oven and all I did was to mix everything together and bake it! Essentially, I don't think that there is special skill required to cook this dish and all you need is time and patience. I've baked this dish for a total of 3 hrs and this dish is definitely worth the long wait.

The meat fell off the bones of the pork ribs as we scoped them off the baking dish and they are so tender and well-infused with all the Asian spices and sauces. My family enjoy this dish very much for our reunion dinner. My son didn't like the look of the dish initially but wouldn't resist his second bite after trying it.

 

 

Here's recipe from Donna Hay Magazine, Jun/July 2011 issue

(with my modification and notes in blue)

Serve 4-6

2kg beef short ribs (replaced with 1kg smaller sized pork ribs)
6 sticks cinnamon (reduced to 4)
6 whole star anise (reduced to 2)
5 cm piece (25g) ginger, peeled and sliced
2 cloves garlic, unpeeled (I used 3)
1/4 cup (45g) brown sugar 
(I used half light muscovado sugar and half dark muscovado sugar for extra colour and flavours)
3/4 cup (180ml) oyster sauce 
(I used Lee Kum Kee and its most premium grade one and would highly recommend this instead of using the lower graded ones)
3/4 cup (180ml) black Chinese vinegar
1 cup (250ml) water

Preheat oven to 180°C (or 160°C fan forced). Place the beef (pork), cinnamon, star anise, ginger, garlic, sugar, oyster sauce, vinegar and water in a baking dish and cover tightly with aluminum foil. Roast for 2 hr. Remove foil and roast for a further 30 min or until tender and sticky.

Note: I used a cast iron casserole pot to bake these ribs. For this reason, I've extended my roasting time to 2 1/2 hr with cover, flipping the ribs in every 45 min and roasted a further 45 min without cover.

Happy Chinese New Year and Happy Baking.
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