Saturday I was planning on doing BBQ ribs, and had thawed out a package
of spares as part of my "start using the meat in the damn freezer"
program.

Well, the day was about 10F and the deck was covered in crusty snow.
Yeah, the boys on AFB would be cheerfully Qing away, but I decided to
wimp out. I decided to go with Chinese braised ribs instead.

After consulting some web recipes (seems like there are about as many
of them as there are Chinese grandmothers) I settled on the following,
based on what I had. Most of the measurements are an after the fact
guess.

1 rack spareribs
1 can chicken broth
2 Tbls white wine
2 Tbls vinegar
2 Tbls plum sauce
2 Tbls Hoisin sauce
1 Tbls ketchup
1 Tbls soy sauce
1 Tbls brown sugar
1 Tsp five-spice powder
1/2 Tsp red pepper flakes
1 Tsp ground pepper
1 Tsp salt
vegetable oil

Cut the rack into individual ribs, then each rib crosswise, give 2-inch
riblets. The small ribs from the end don't need that last part.

In a heavy, wide pot, brown the riblets in a few batches, using a bit
of oil to start, removing to a plate as they get browned. The ribs have
plenty of fat.

After they're all browned, pour off the accumulated fat, then add back
the browned meat. Mix the other ingredients and add to the pot. Bring
to a bare simmer when covered and go watch TV for quite a while. Check
back every so often to see if the ribs are tender. The sauce should
thicken as it cooks, if too dry add more liquid.

Total cooking time was like 1-1/2 hours or so, I wasn't paying that
much attention. I was watching the Rams get pummulated.

They came out pretty good, a little bit sweet, a little spicy, not bad
on cold winter evening.



Brian