No-Sweat Ribs With All The Trimmings

I love spareribs so much that I can eat it every day. One day, when I have my own kitchen, I'll make sure that I get to cook this dish.

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Ingredients

1 slab pork baby back ribs (about 2 kilos)

For the marinade:
1 439-gram can pineapple chunks
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons dried rosemary leaves
1 head garlic, minced
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
Salt and pepper to taste

For the gravy:
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup sifted all-purpose flour
2 cups drippings (from the cooked ribs)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon chili sauce
Salt and pepper to taste

For garnishing:
1/4 cup butter pineapple chunks
1 cup sliced bell peppers
1 1/2 cups peaches, drained and sliced into chunks

Procedure

Wash ribs and pat dry.

Marinade : Into a bowl, drain pineapple chunks and reserve the syrup for the marinade. Set aside the pineapple chunks for garnishing. Combine the syrup, soy sauce, olive oil, rosemary leaves, garlic, sugar and salt and pepper.

Marinate pork in the mixure. Cover the dish with cling wrap. Leave at room temperature for one hour then chill overnight in the refrigerator.

When ready to cook, preheat oven for 12-20 minutes.

Roast ribs together with the marinade, allocating 30 minutes for every half kilo of pork. Transfer the roast pork to the grill of a barbegue pit and reserve the drippings. Grill for a few minutes to imporve aroma and to add grill marks.

Strain the dripings and measure for the gravy. You should have two cups. If not enough, add water to make two cups.

Gravy: In a saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in flour and mix well with a wire whisk. Pour in the drippings and stir continuously until it begins to thicken. Season with Worcestershire sauce, chili sauce, salt and pepper.

Garnish: In a frying pan, melt the butter. Add remaining ingredients and saute until the bell peppers are crisp-tender.

To assemble: Surround roast with the sauteed mixture. Serve the gravy separately.

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Source: Food Magazine. December 2007 Issue

Crispy Pata

Preparation & drying: 4 hours to 1 day
Estimated cooking time: 20 minutes

Crispy Pata Ingredients:
1 Pata (front or hind leg of a pig including the knuckles)
1 bottle of soda (7Up or sprite)
1 tablespoon of salt
2 tablespoons patis (fish sauce)
1/2 tablespoon baking soda
1 tablespoon of monosodium glutamate (MSG)
4 tablespoons of flour
Enough oil for deep frying
Enough water for boiling

Cooking Instructions:

Clean the pork pata by removing all hairs and by scraping the skin with a knife. Wash thoroughly. Make four to five inch cuts on the sides of the pata. On a deep stock pot, place the pata in water with soda and salt. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Then add the baking soda and continue to simmer for another 10 minutes. Remove the pata from the pot and hang and allow to drip dry for 24 hours. An alternative to this is to thoroughly drain the pork pata and refrigerate for a few hours.

After the above process, rub patis on the pata and sprinkle flour liberally.In a deep frying pot, heat cooking oil and deep fry the pork pata until golden brown.

Crispy Pata Dip Sauce: Mix 3/4 cup of vinegar, 1/4 cup soy sauce, 2 cloves of crushed garlic, 1 head of diced onion and 1 hot pepper. Salt and pepper to taste.

*Recipe from Food Magazine