Hoisin-Glazed Baby Back Ribs
On one of my Asian trips I had the pleasure to dine with friends in Hong Kong. Mrs. Cheng, an excellent cook prepared this dish for me and told me that it was a recipe of her late mother that came from the northern part of China. Baby back ribs have less fat and cook more quickly than spare ribs. During the last half hour or so of grilling, baste the tender meat with the ginger-spiked hoisin sauce. To make it even more attractive, tie the ribs together in pairs with bok choy and scallions.
Ingredients
- 4-6 lb pork baby back ribs
- Kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 Tbsp sesame seeds
For the Glaze
- 1 cup hoisin sauce
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup red wine vinegar
- 2 Tbsp grated ginger
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- 1 Tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tsp curry powder
Instructions
- To make the glaze – In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the hoisin sauce, honey, vinegar, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, and curry powder. Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, and cook over low heat for 2-3 minutes to blend the flavors. Remove from the heat.
- Turn grill on medium heat.
- Season the ribs liberally with salt and pepper. Grill indirectly over medium heat, turning halfway through the cooking time. When the ribs have cooked for one hour, start basting them every 15 minutes with the hoisin glaze until the meat is tender and has shrunk from the ends of the bones, for about 15-20 minutes more.
- A few minutes before the ribs are finished, sprinkle them with sesame seeds.
- Remove the ribs from the grill and cut between the bones.