Great Finger Food: Honey Ribs

It’s been a long time since I’ve had these honey pork ribs. My mum used to make them fairly regularly. But the preparation is fairly involved, requiring several stages, and more often than not, in the mad-mad rush of daily living, it is usually the easy-to-prepare, no-fuss dishes that get put on the dinner table. And thus this recipe was relegated to the “firm favorite, tried-and-tested, but forgotten” category.

I decided to resurrect it the other night, as I searched for a delectable, addictive finger food recipe. There is something rather sexy and sensuous about eating food with your fingers, especially the type of food that leads you to constantly lick your fingers because it is so good. You get the picture…

The combination of ingredients may sound a trifle odd, but the end result is anything but. Curry powder and honey, you ask? It works, and works very well too. Actually, there is no honey involved. Instead it is caramelized sugar that gives these ribs their rather unique texture – a deliciously crispy and sweet “crust” – and not to mention their gorgeous color. The curry powder does not overwhelm. It sort of sits in the background and adds a subtle spiced overtone to the meat.

These ribs are perfect for munching on while lounging on the sofa and chatting or just staring at the goggle box. Once you start on the first piece, it’s near impossible to stop.

I used just under 1 kilogram of pork loin back ribs (i.e. baby back ribs) the other day for two people. No, it is not a lot at all. In fact, we were still wanting more long after the last piece of ribs had been devoured! The quantities given in the recipe are based on my “look, see, feel” method of cooking – yet again. And can be easily scaled for varying amounts of ribs.

• Remove any excess fat and skin from the ribs, and divide into single ribs of about 1½ to 2 inches in length (for easy eating). Marinade the meat with approximately 2 tablespoons light soy sauce, 1 teaspoon sugar and 2 tablespoons curry powder (any meat curry powder will do fine). [Update (23/2/04): Toru tried using five spice powder instead of curry powder, and it seems to work well too.]

• Steam the ribs for about 45 minutes or until tender. [Update (1/3/04): I prefer using loin back ribs for this dish as they are more tender and leaner. However, pork spare ribs may also be used. As the latter’s texture is usually more sinewy and less tender than that of loin back ribs, they will require a longer period of steaming – perhaps 1 hour or more.]

• Remove the ribs from the gravy that is produced during the steaming process. Save the gravy for use in cooking other dishes or stir-frying vegetables. Allow the ribs to cool slightly.

• Lightly coat the cooled ribs with cornflour, and deep fry in hot oil until golden brown. Drain well and place on paper towels to soak up the excess oil.

• Heat a non-stick wok or frying pan on very low heat and add a tiny amount of oil to the hot pan. Add 3 tablespoons of sugar, and allow it to melt. Initially, the sugar will harden before it dissolves into a liquid. Heat control is very important to prevent the sugar from burning. Quick actions are also of the essence for this stage of the preparation. It is best to have everything ready around you so that you can work quickly and smoothly. This is where everything can go from nicely done to burnt in several blinks of an eye.

• Once the sugar has melted, very quickly add about 2 tablespoons of light soy sauce. Immediately add the cornflour-coated ribs, and toss quickly so that all sides of each piece of ribs are evenly coated with the sugar syrup. There should be just enough syrup to coat the ribs without any excess, producing nice dry ribs without any gravy.

• As soon as the ribs are coated with the sugar and a slightly crispy “crust” has formed (only a few minutes is required), sprinkle some chopped coriander or green onion for color and aroma, and immediately remove the ribs from the heat.

Now that I’ve “rediscovered” these ribs, I don’t intend to wait too long until my next rendezvous with this recipe. Hmmm-mmm… these are GOOD!

Copyright © 2004 Renee Kho. All rights reserved.
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