Recipe: Chinese Style Ribs & Pineapple Rice Salad

For disappearing acts, it's hard to beat what happens to the eight hours supposedly left after eight of sleep and eight of work. – Doug Larson 

These were roasted, but could just as easily been grilled.

Hi all. Sorry I didn't post yesterday. 

I was kind of distracted and short on time. There's a lot going on at the house right now with regards to prep for selling. In truth, most mornings I have taken to getting up at 5am to have an hour or so of painting (or a similar task) done before I even get in to work in the morning.

Yesterday I actually got a fair bit accomplished. I was waiting at home until 10am to let a contractor in who didn't show up. That time will now have to be rescheduled. Grrrrrrr………

Mix a marinade and let time do the work for you.

It seems look every room in the house is in disarray, needing some small piece of work done to it. Oh, wait – every room IS in disarray. How we're living through it I don't know. But we are and will. Some rooms are nearly finished the way we would want them to show.

As I said to someone not long ago: "The old girl is really starting to shine." (Our house is 150 years old.) Why we didn't do this stuff years ago is beyond me...

But regardless of the distractions of house selling and work, we still have to eat, don't we? If not we'll waste away to nothing and that's not a good thing.

So I've been on the lookout recently for recipes that aren't a lot of work, or a lot of "tending." That's saying something, because most of my recipes are not very involved. But time is of the essence now, as spare minutes are harder and harder to find.

I've actually developed a bit of a guilt complex when I'm not doing something to further our aim of selling. My spouse has been working so hard, and I'm so grateful to have him by my side in this.

The least I can do is feed him. This one tastes very good, if I do say so myself. There's nothing "sticky" about these ribs like most "Chinese-style" ribs. It makes them far easier and less messy to eat. 

I used riblets (small ribs and ends) for two reasons. First, they are cheaper than the long "spare" ribs, and secondly I find they have much more meat. The kind of ribs you use is entirely up to you.

There's also a second recipe beneath the ribs recipe that you may want to consider for your next backyard gathering. It's a chilled rice salad with pineapple and broccoli. Quite tasty and I dare say it actually may be on the healthy side.

Regardless, I hope you find these recipes interesting, and give them a try.

Lots of meat in riblets as opposed to ribs.

Chinese Style Ribs

Prep: 1 hour  |  Roast: 30 min  |  Serves 4

1/2 cup hoisin sauce

1/2 cup rice wine vinegar

1/4 cup natural brewed soy sauce

1 tbsp dry mustard

1 tbsp ground garlic

1 tbsp ground onion

1 tbsp ground ginger

1 tsp crushed chilli flakes

1 tsp Chinese five spice powder

1 kg pork riblets

Mix all the ingredients together (except the pork) in a bowl. Place the pork ribs in a sealable bag, pour the marinade over and mix well. Let the ribs marinate on the counter for 1 hour or the refrigerator overnight.

You ca cook these either in the oven (roasted) or on the grill. To roast, preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the ribs on a rack and roast for 30 minutes, turning once at the halfway point.

Pineapple Broccoli Rice Salad

3 cup cooked long grain white rice

2 cups broccoli florets (in very small pieces)

1 red pepper, diced

1 Thai red chilli, chopped into thin rings

1/2 pineapple, cored and diced in 1/2" pieces

dressing

For Dressing:

1 tbsp grated ginger

2 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp hoisin

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp Sriracha hot sauce

salt and pepper

Cook 1 cup of long grain rice as per package directions. The yield should be 3 cups. Mix together all the salad ingredients in a serving bowl. Then combine the dressing ingredients separately. If making the salad ahead, refrigerate both.

About 1 hour before serving pour the dressing on top of the salad and toss well. This recipe has a little heat from both the Siriacha sauce as well as the Thai chilli. By chopping the Thai chilli into rings people can see the pieces and avoid them if they wish, cutting down on the spiciness.

This cold salad packs a little heat which pairs perfectly with sweet fresh pineapple.

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