Every now and then I get a craving for some Chinese-style ribs. Here’s a recipe for a suitable barbecue sauce when you’re making them.
| 2 tbsp | Olive Oil |
| 2 | Onions |
| 4 | Garlic Cloves |
| 2 | Chillies |
| 2 tsp | Fennel Seeds |
| 4 tbsp | Brown Sugar |
| 1 tbsp | Five-spice powder |
| 100g | Soy Sauce |
| 400g | Tomato Ketchup |
| To taste | Black Pepper |
| 400g tin | Chopped Tomatoes |
Put the oil in a large pan, add the onions (finely chopped), and fry gently until just beginning to colour at the edges. Add the garlic and fry for a couple of minutes, stirring all the time. Then add the chillies (chopped), Fennel seeds, sugar, Five-spice, soy sauce, and ketchup. Stir until everything comes together, then add the chopped tomatoes. Season to taste with black pepper. Simmer gently for about an hour, stirring regularly to make sure it doesn’t catch, then take off the heat. Once cool, it will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for quite a while.
When cooking ribs, although you can use proper ribs if you want to, it is far better to use belly pork. Make sure you cook the belly pork (or ribs) before you start coating them with the sauce, otherwise it will burn and taste bitter.
Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4 or 5. Rub the belly pork with a little Olive Oil, then season well with salt – especially the rind to make it go crispy. Ideally, place it on a rack in a roasting tray and cook for about 30-60 minutes, then turn over and cook for a further 30 minutes.
Coat the pork ribs with the sauce on one side and cook for another 30 minutes, then flip them over and repeat for the other side.
Obviously, timings are approximate and will be hugely different if you try this on a barbecue.