baby back ribs

but make it fivespice

Ribs have always been a staple of any good cookout. Typical recipes will start with a dry rub or simply barbeque sauce; the ribs are then wrapped in foil and baked in the oven until they are tender. We follow a similar idea in this recipe, although the flavors are more reminiscent of Taiwanese-style 三杯鷄 (i.e. tending more on the sweet side with five spice), and the foil packet is almost like simmering the meat in its own little chamber. Many thanks to mama Tu for teaching me how to make these ribs way back!

As a side note, almost everything in this recipe is amenable to experimentation, and the measurements are more rough suggestions than anything else. The only important steps, as far as I’ve discovered, are to use plenty of brown sugar in the dry rub, and to crimp the foil tightly. For example, try basil and thai chilis in the dry rub, or wrapping in lotus leaf along with foil. You can also finish the ribs with the foil opened (with a brushing of honey!), if you prefer a bit more crust on the ribs.

This recipe is for one rack of ribs, although you’ll likely have leftover spice rub and marinade.

Ingredients

  • 1 rack of pork ribs (baby back)

Dry rub

  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp pepper flakes
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • a pinch of salt

Liquid marinade

  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 2-3 tbsp sesame oil
  • 3-4 tbsp shaoxin wine
  • 1-2 tbsp mirin

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 375° F, although you can do this after the dry rub.
  2. Pat dry the pork ribs.
  3. Mix the dry rub in a bowl, and rub generously into all sides of the ribs; let the ribs sit for 1-2 hours. (you can go longer, but then you should cover and cure in the fridge.)
  4. Prepare to wrap the ribs in foil. I like to make little boats by crimping the edges (see pictures below) to hold liquid in, and wrap foil around the entire contraption afterwards.
  5. Mix the liquid marinade, and spoon some into each boat (~15 tbsp). I tend to cut racks in half to fit in the oven, with ~7-8 spoonfuls of sauce into each boat.
  6. (optional) I’ll often sprinkle the remaining dry rub over the ribs, and drizzle some honey on top.
  7. Wrap foil tightly, making sure to crimp/seal the packet.
  8. Bake at 375° F for approximately 2 hours.
  9. Let rest 10-15 minutes. Unwrap, slice ribs apart, and eat away!

Picture references

This time, I got a pack of ribs from Costco, which turned out to actually contain three full racks. pork ribs

After patting them dry, I mixed up some dry rub and worked it into the meat. I ran out partway through, and had to make some more.

After letting the dry rub sit for a few hours, I cut the racks in half and crimped little boats of aluminum foil around each half-rack. I spooned about 7-8 spoonfuls of liquid marinade into each boat. If you add too little liquid, it’ll evaporate completely, leading to stickier ribs, as opposed to tender, ‘clean’ ribs. They both taste good, but its up to preference!

I then completely wrapped the ribs in tight packets, and got them into the oven. Since I ended up with more ribs than I had expected, one pan went in the lower rack. This one was a hotter zone, and came close to sauce reduction mentioned above.

After resting for a while, unwrap and devour!