Chinese red-braised ribs

Recipe adapted from Marion's Kitchen (serves 3 as part of main meal)

Baby back ribs- 1 kg, separated into individual ribs (I used the loin ribs from Waitrose)
Oil- 1 tbsp
Brown sugar- 3 tbsp

Dark soy sauce- 1 tbsp

Soy sauce- 2 1/2 tbsp

White vinegar- 3 tbsp

Chinese cooking wine- 2 tbsp (I only has Sake at had so used that instead)

Oyster sauce- 1/2 tbsp

Water- 1/4 cup

Ginger- 2 big slices, but thin

Garlic- 4 large pods, crushed

Spring onions- 3, white bit separated and the green bit finely chopped

Star anise- 2, small

Cinnamon stick- 1 inch piece

Cloves- 4

Dried red chillies- 2 (optional)

Salt- to taste (if necessary)

Maggi seasoning sauce- a few dashes (optional)

Sesame seeds- 1/4 to 1/2tsp

Place the ribs in a large saucepan and fill with room temperature water to cover them properly.

Bring to a continuous simmer over high heat and using a slotted spoon remove all the frothy bits from the surface of the water.

Simmer for a further 3 to 4 minutes and then drain the water.

Rinse the ribs well in clean water and transfer to a bowl.

Heat oil in a large wok and throw in the brown sugar. 

Wait for it to melt and caramelise a bit.

Add the pork ribs and give a good mix to coat them with the sugar.

Do so for about 3 to 4 minutes until the ribs are a light brown in colour.

Pour in all the liquids one after the other including water and then the ginger, garlic, spring onions, and whole spices.

Mix well and cover and cook on medium heat for about 25 minutes, making sure you give it a mix half way through.

If even after 25 minutes your ribs arent cooked through, continue cooking till the meat comes away from the ribs. Mine took about 35 minutes.

Remove the ginger and whole spices (whatever you can find), increase heat a bit (not too high) and stir the ribs till they are well coated with the liquid and starts to become sticky. 

Be careful not to burn them at this point. You need to keep an eye on them.

Once there is no more liquid, add the maggi seasoning, give a final mix and transfer on to a serving dish.

Garnish with the green bits from the spring onion and sesame seeds and serve warm.

Notes: The ribs in the original recipe are way shorter as she says shes sourced them from a Chinese store. I couldnt get hold of them, so the next best were these loin ribs.

Ive also tried them with the big ribs, but these are definitely better as the sauces get distributed well and coats them properly than the big ribs.

Salt- if your soy is salty enough then you wont need to add any. I did need to add a bit.

If you end up over cooking the ribs they become chewy and dry. Make sure that doesnt happen.

Ive tried the exact same recipe with pork belly and its absolutely fabulous, maybe even better than ribs :)