For reasons known only to my mother, I was bought up to believe that ladies should not eat meat off the bone, and so I assiduously avoided chicken drumsticks and ribs for years.
It was only a few months ago that I found myself confronted with a plate of spare ribs at a dinner party. What followed was like a reversal of that scene in Pretty Woman when Julia Roberts sends a snail flying across the fancy restaurant. Whilst everyone else gnawed on the juicy ribs like a pack of ravenous dogs I tried to carefully cut the meat off with my knife and fork. This was not a successful method and eventually my greed won out.
I am now a complete convert to ribs and the joy of messy, slurpy food. The relative cheapness of the cut is an added bonus. Of course this isn’t date food; a potential partner is unlikely to fall madly in love with you as meat goo drips down your chin. Ribs are something to share with friends who are happy to watch you pick meat out of your teeth for a couple of hours after dinner.
These ribs are coated in a dark and aromatic sticky sauce which you could use in a stir fry if you have leftovers. The idea of using star anise comes from a Nigel Slater recipe and stem ginger syrup is an interesting alternative to honey.
Ingredients
(serves 4)
4 tbsp syrup from a jar of stem ginger (or just use honey)
5 tbsp Hoisin sauce
1 tsp dried chilli flakes
1 tbsp ketchup
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 crushed garlic clove
4 pieces of star anise
Salt and pepper
10-12 pork ribs
Directions
Mix together all the ingredients besides the ribs. You can be fairly liberal with the measurements.
Cover the ribs in the marinade and leave them for as long as you can wait. Ideally 24 hours in the fridge but an hour will do.
Cook the ribs in a hot oven (200c) for an hour and a quarter. Baste them every 15 minutes and after approximately one hour of cooking if the sauce is burning away pour in a mug of water and cover the dish with foil.
I serve these ribs with plain boiled rice and a carrot salad if I’m feeling virtuous. I like to think the healthy salad negates the ribs making the meal diet neutral.