Help With Pork Spare Ribs

[Konini]

I asked my husband to pick up a loaf of bread from Tesco on his way home. He came back with the bread and some half price (almost out of date) pork, which at a glance I recognise as being individually chopped spare ribs. We are in a serviced apartment, and I have a full freezer, no oven and no grill (which everything I've googled tonight wants). I do, however, have a fair collection of dried herbs and spices as well as various sauces. I need help. It doesn't have to be western, - I've always found the things to be too much effort for too little reward, but I am desperate for help with any suggestion as to what to do with these things in the next day or so before they go off.

Thanks in advance.....

[Krungbin]

You can always make a Thai style soup with them... Easy...

[zaphodbeeblebrox]

Here's some Asian stovetop ribs I make - basically sweet and sour

* 3/4 cup brown sugar

* 3 tablespoons honey

* 1/2 cup soy sauce

* 1/2 cup ketchup

* 2 tablespoons vinegar

* 2 large cloves garlic, minced

* 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

* 1 teaspoon salt

* 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper

* 3 to 4 pounds pork ribs

* 1 medium onion, sliced

* 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted

* 1/4 cup chopped green onion

In large bowl, combine, the first nine ingredients. Add ribs and turn to coat. Place the onion in bottom of large pot or dutch oven; arrange ribs on top. Cover and cook on low for about 2 hours. Place ribs on serving platter and sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onion. Serve with white rice.

[tutsiwarrior]

I usually cook ribs in my oven but the thais do it stove top inna wok with oil...

try a marinade with soy sauce, ginger, garlic and a little sugar overnight then heat oil inna wok to cover and swish around a bit while frying...the ribs have to be 'bite sized'...I don't particularly like the result with this method (tough and chewy) but with your limited facilities whattaye gonna do?

also, have a sniff of the meat before you do anything...'half price' usually means that it is already rotten in which case you can throw the lot into the bin and then tell your husband to not be a cheap shit in the future...

[bankruatsteve]

No oven or grill? Ouch. Well, here's a thought (and I'm not a chef) but I do think I make pretty good spare ribs (I grill them)...

Marinate with some garlic, oyster sauce, and a little honey (or whatever you like for marinade including the BBQ sauces you can buy) for at least 4 hours.

Cook in a frying pan with a sprinkle of olive oil and cover with a lid on medium to low heat turning 3/4 times over 20-30 minutes.

Or, you could always fry them in oil for a few minutes - that's a typical Thai way of cooking ribs.

Cheers

[cellbuilder]

A very simple method is to steam them for an hour and a half. Use the steamer basket of your rice cooker (if have). Let them cool a little and then baste them in your favorite sauce. Enjoy!

[Tejas]

A very simple method is to steam them for an hour and a half. Use the steamer basket of your rice cooker (if have). Let them cool a little and then baste them in your favorite sauce. Enjoy!

You could make "smothered pork." Just like smothered chicken (popular dish in the south of USA) but use pork ribs instead.

Or, pork ribs with dumplings--like chicken and dumplings but with pork ribs.

Just Google for smothered pork recipees..........very easy.

[NanaFoods]

I got the perfect recipe and method for you - easy and delicious too.

These are those delicious sparerabs you get during DimSum.

Pai Gu

(Chinese Steamed Spareribs with Black Bean Sauce)

Ingredients:

1 lb Spareribs

¼ c Peanut Oil

2 clv Garlic, finely minced

1 T Chinese Salted Black Beans, rinsed, chopped (or black bean paste)

2 Dried Chinese Hot Chilies, chopped (optional)

1 T Ginger Root, minced

2 Scallions, finely minced

1 T Chinese Rice Wine or Sherry

1 ts Dark Soy sauce

1 T Light Soy sauce

1 ts Sugar

1 T Cornstarch, mixed with 2 T ice water

Preparation:

Have butcher cut spareribs into 1-inch pieces. Trim off fat. Wash any bone fragments off.

Place spareribs into a bowl.

You may need to rinse the black beans if you got them in whole-salted form. Wash and rinse whole salted black beans 2 or 3 times. Otherwise, just use the paste straight from the jar.

Method:

Heat the oil in a wok until it is smoking, and then add the spare ribs. Stir-fry for about 2-minutes or until browned on the outside, and then transfer the ribs to a few small heatproof bowls for steaming.

Pour off most of the oil, leaving about one tablespoon, and reheat. Put in the chopped black beans or black bean paste, ginger, garlic, chilies (if using), and half of the scallions. Stir-fry together for 30-seconds, and then add the wine, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, and sugar. Mix together, and then stir into the bowls with the spare ribs.

Place the bowls in a steamer and steam for 1-hour. Pour off the liquid from the bowls into a pan and bring to the boil. Blend the cornstarch with ice water, and stir into the pan to make a smooth thickened sauce.

Transfer the spare ribs to a warmed serving dish (or just leave in the bowls) and sprinkle on the remaining scallions. Pour the boiling thickened sauce over the top and serve immediately.

Do-ahead notes:

Do through preparation.

Comments:

Spareribs can be left in closed the steamer (no fire) for 2-hours if dinner is late.

Substitute bean sauce if you don't have salted black beans.

Yield: 4 servings

Edited February 27, 2010 by ChefHeat

[David006]

Yes ...always see those ribs in Tesco ....wife says "better in market". Lots of good recipe suggestions already so won't add my good lady's. We have bought the "racks" as the Thai market guys and girls seem unable to butcher these so prettily.

Re no oven...next time hubby is in Tesco tell/request/beg him to buy a big toaster oven...we bought one a long time ago in Robinsons I think...

Great machine ..cooks everything from roast pork or chicken to toast...get one with an internal fan and spit if you can makes it like an efficient convection oven.

Happy cooking

[Curt1591]

Braising is the typical way to deal with such cuts of meat.

You can dream up your own marinades and / or braising liquids.

[Konini]

Thanks to everyone for that - unfortunately (I really don't like them so much) there are enough of the rotten things to try making a couple of the suggestions. I'd thought of treating them like diced pork and making a stew or curry, but all those bones would make it hard to eat. He has had his nose tweaked - in every country we've lived in fruit, veg, meat and fish are half the price at the markets as at the supermarkets, so for the same amount of money you can get fresh. He sees a bargain and forgets though. I've had a good sniff and they're OK as long as I cook or start marinading today. I've seen those mini-cookers, but we're only here for a couple more weeks - when we return later in the year, we're renting a proper apartment with a proper cooker and a proper grill. And hopefully a balcony big enough for a barbie.

Thanks again.

[gennisis]

also, have a sniff of the meat before you do anything...'half price' usually means that it is already rotten in which case you can throw the lot into the bin and then tell your husband to not be a cheap shit in the future...

Dont know if you have a cat...but....a cat will not normaly eat meat that has gone off....whereas a dog will.....on a couple of occaisons I have tested chicken this way...if the cat eats it...OK..so do I.

[dmax]

thai style noodle soup with pork ribs, easy