Baked Baby Back Ribs With Soy Sauce

Yes, there is such a thing as too much bokeh. While photographing a single object with the 35 mm lens is fine, a plateful of food is more tricky because I'm not sure exactly where to focus. Anyway, we had baby ribs tonight. With a tangy cabbage slaw to balance the richness, the ribs were glorious especially when hot out of the oven and eaten with fingers. I didn't have enough time to bake them until they were falling off the bones but my mom could eat them without pulling a teeth out.

Do not trim the fat off baby back (a.k.a loin ribs) ribs. There's not much fat anyway so this isn't too sinful a meat to eat. Whatever fat on the ribs turn into tasty, flavorful burnt-on-the outside-soft-tender-inside bits of heaven after an hour of baking. I hear "Yay!"



Baby Back Ribs With Soy Sauce
1.2 kg baby pork ribs, cut into chunks
1/3 cup dark soy sauce
1/2 cup chicken stock
2 pieces of red fermented bean curd + 2 T of the sauce
1 piece of rock sugar, about 3 cm diameter
2 T Shaoxin hua tiao wine
1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, smashed

1. Oven at 180 C. Put everything except the ribs into a small sauce pot and boil until thickened.

2. Dip each piece of ribs into the sauce and then place onto a baking tray, close together to minimize drying out. Drizzle about 2 T veg oil all over the ribs. Bake for 1 hour or 1/2 hour longer if you have the time but at 160 C and increase to 180 C for the last 15 minutes. About 45 minutes into the cooking, take tray with ribs ou! t and di p each rib in the sauce again and place onto the baking tray, turning ribs the other side up.There should be some sauce remaining in the pot.

3. While ribs are cooking, heat the remaining sauce under low heat until very thick.

4. Remove ribs from the oven, brush the thick sauce over the ribs and serve immediately.