Author Notes
This recipe is adapted from Leela Punyaratabandhu's at shesimmers.com—I adjusted it to be made in your oven, the ribs baked instead of grilled. Mehkong, a Thai spirit, isn't readily available in the United States, so Leela, and we, use rum or whisky instead. Leela is the author of Simple Thai Food: Classic Recipes from the Thai Home Kitchen (Ten Speed Press, 2014). —Justin Kennedy
Continue After Advertisement
Ingredients
-
2
slabs of meaty baby back ribs, weighing between 2½ to 3 pounds each
-
1 cup
dark rum or whisky (tequila works too)
-
6
large cloves garlic, peeled
-
2 teaspoons
whole white peppercorns
-
4
cilantro roots or ½ cup chopped cilantro stems
-
3 tablespoons
fish sauce
-
1/4 cup
oyster sauce
-
1/3
grated palm sugar or brown sugar, packed
-
2 cups
Thai sweet chili sauce, for serving
Directions
-
Cut each baby back rib slab in half for easy handling. Place them in a large mixing bowl.
-
Blend the rum, garlic, peppercorns, cilantro roots in a blender until smooth. Pour the mixture over the ribs.
-
Add the fish sauce, oyster sauce, and sugar to the ribs. Mix well, and then cover and chill 5 to 6 hours to overnight.
-
Bake the ribs, covered in foil, at 300°F degrees until the outside of the ribs look nicely caramelized and they're fork tender, approximately 2 hours. Then, uncover the ribs and adjust heat to 400°F, basting every couple of minutes, approximately 1 additional hour. (You can also grill over low coals until juices run clear when pricked with the tip of a knife.)
-
Cut into individual ribs. Serve with Thai sweet chili sauce.
See what other Food52ers are saying.