Ingredients
Scale
- 2 racks St. Louis style or baby back ribs
Marinade:
- 1 ½ cup sugar
- 2 Tablespoons salt
- 3 teaspoons five spice powder
- 2 teaspoons ground white pepper
- 3 Tablespoons sesame oil
- ½ cup shaoxing wine
- ½ cup soy sauce
- ½ cup hoisin sauce
- 3 Tablespoon molasses
- 12 cloves garlic (finely minced)
- 1 teaspoon red food coloring (optional)
Instructions
- Make the marinade by combining the sugar, salt, five spice powder, ground white pepper, sesame oil, shaoxing wine, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, molasses, garlic, and red food coloring in a medium saucepan.
- Turn the heat to medium and keep mixing until you dissolve the sugar. Do not bring the marinade to a simmer. Just heat it enough to melt the sugar.
- Let the sauce cool to room temperature.
- Reserve about 1 cup of the marinade separately and store in the fridge. You will use this marinade for glazing the ribs.
- Rinse the ribs and thoroughly pat them dry with paper towels. Trim any excess fat. Then flip the ribs bone side up and score the underside of the ribs several times with a sharp knife through the silver skin so the marinade will penetrate more thoroughly. If you prefer, you can also remove the silverskin by grasping the edge and pulling it off.
- Transfer the ribs to a container and pour the rest of the marinade over the ribs making sure the ribs are evenly coated.
- Put a piece of plastic wrap on top of the ribs pushing down to eliminate any air pockets. Cover and allow the ribs to marinate for at least 4 hours in the fridge. But for the best flavor, allow the ribs to marinate 2 days, flipping the ribs over halfway during the marinating time to ensure even absorption.
- Pull the ribs out of the marinade, allowing any excess to drip off. Put the ribs in a shallow foil covered baking tray, making sure the ribs are in one layer. Cover the ribs tightly with aluminum foil. Discard the used marinade.
- Preheat your oven to 300 degrees and move the oven shelf to the middle.
- Put the ribs in the oven and bake for 1.5-2 hours, until the ribs are just starting to get tender but are still somewhat firm.
- Remove the ribs from the oven, uncover and pour off the fat and juices that have collected in the tray. Baste with the reserved marinade. Return to the oven and bake for another hour, basting every 15 mins.
- Allow the ribs to rest for 10 minutes. Slice and serve!
Notes
*These ribs are tender but not fall-off-the bone soft, which is more of an American tradition with ribs. If you prefer a softer texture, cook the ribs initially for an extra hour before uncovering to start the basting.
* Any leftover ribs can be refrigerated. They keep for 5 days in the fridge. You can either heat the ribs in the oven wrapped in foil or in the microwave for a couple of minutes.
*You can also freeze any cooked ribs. Refrigerate to defrost before heating as directed above. If you choose to microwave from frozen, lower the power and microwave gently or choose the defrost setting before heating.
Keywords: char siu, bbq, barbecue, chinese food, ribs, summer, marinades