sticky korean-style pork spare ribs

Today was freezing.

The sky was cobalt and the sun was blazing, but the air was icy and the wind that whirled the autumn leaves did its job at chilling us to the bone.

I had a lovely morning. I cooed over a new baby boy (Arlo, such a sweet name), bought crimson glass ladybird beads and lunched on the always fabulous fare at bloodwood.

It’s days like this that hearty food is always appreciated. Rich, fatty meats and warm chunky stews.

So what better than these spicy, sticky Korean-style pork ribs?

The meat is marinated in ginger and gochjung, a red pepper sauce, then roasted in the oven until mouth-wateringly soft. Don’t forget the coriander or spring onion garnish, it lifts the flavours and colours perfectly.

Korean-Style Pork Spare Ribs

Anna’s adaptation of a recipe by Brigitte Hafner. Serves 2-3.

Ingredients:
1kg pork spare ribs
100g ginger, peeled and chopped
6 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons peanut or olive oil
50ml light soy sauce
50ml shao hsing rice wine
3 tablespoons gochjung*
1 tablespoon Korean chilli pepper powder
2 teaspoons sesame oil
3 spring onions, finely chopped
Small handful coriander sprigs, washed

Method:

1. Cut the ribs into small sections and arrange in a wide casserole dish.

2. In a mortar and pestle, pound the ginger, garlic and half the sugar to a rough paste.

3. Mix all the remaining ingredients together except the spring onions and coriander and pour over the ribs. Marinate in the fridge for about 2-4 hours.

4. Preheat oven to 180C.

5. Cover the casserole with foil and put in the preheated oven for 50 minutes.

6. Remove foil, turn ribs and cook for a further 50 minutes, basting and turning every so often. They’re cooked when the meat between the ribs is very tender.

7. Serve the sticky ribs and their sauce sprinkled with the spring onions and coriander with steamed rice and Chinese greens.

Note: If you can’t find gochjung, use 2 tablespoons chilli sauce and 1 tablespoon honey.