Chinese Baby Back Ribs

Y’all already know that I love Chinese-American food almost as much as I love TexMex, and that’s really saying something. I keep Asian seasoning ingredients in my pantry so I can whip up something even better than Chinese takeout at a moment’s notice. I love that with five or six Asian products on hand I can make 90% of the Asian-American dishes out there. I also love that the most popular Asian ingredients are easily found in the grocery store, and they’re still affordable.

We like ribs of any kind here at Little Coastal Kitchen headquarters, but baby back ribs are a favorite. They’re easy to cook, they’re almost always tender, and they aren’t as messy to eat as big spare ribs are. Smoky BBQ ribs will forever be the gold standard, but baby backs go on sale often enough that we actually get tired of BBQ. I still buy them whenever they’re on sale, so I’ve had to branch out recipe-wise.

Chinese spare ribs are part of every pu pu platter I’ve ever seen at a Chinese or Polynesian restaurant. They’re often baby back ribs rather than actual spare ribs, which are larger. Either way, I’m always delighted to partake.

My Chinese Baby Back Ribs recipe is one I cobbled together years ago. I adapted and melded other recipes with an eye toward my favorite Chinese restaurant spare ribs, my pantry, and my schedule. They’re delicious, and they’re absolutely family-friendly.

I’ll warn you though: this is a two-day recipe that requires a slow cooker, so you’ll need to plan a little. It has three steps, but don’t let that scare you! The hands-on time is minimal, and the steps are dead easy.

First, you need to peel the ribs. What does that mean? Peeling ribs is simply removing the tough membrane on the concave side of the ribs. Why do it? The membrane doesn’t break down during cooking, and may even get tougher. It also prevents your seasoning from penetrating that side of the rack of ribs. Large or small, pork or beef, you’ll get much more enjoyable results if you make it a habit to peel your ribs.

To peel ribs, turn the rack so the concave side faces up. You’ll see the thick membrane that covers the entire inner side of the rack. Working from one end, loosen the membrane from the meat and bones by carefully prying up a half inch or so with the blunt tip of a dinner knife. Using a paper towel, grab the now unattached edge of the membrane, and pull slowly, stripping the tough membrane away from the meat. It usually comes off in one long piece. If not, loosen with the knife again and repeat.

For Chinese Baby Back Ribs, once the rack of ribs is peeled, cut into individual ribs by slicing between the bones. When you get to the narrow end of the rack–especially on baby backs–it’s sometimes easiest to leave the last two or three pieces together. You may be surprised just how much cutting individual ribs maximizes the flavor of the finished dish. This whole peeling and cutting operation takes almost no time at all.

After peeling and cutting you’re going to toss the ribs with a quick rub, put them in a zipper bag, add the liquid marinade, smush it all around, and throw them in the fridge overnight. The next morning, the ribs go into your slow cooker with no extra liquid, and you’ll reserve the marinade in the fridge. Cook the ribs on low for 6 or 7 hours. If your slow cooker has a “keep warm” function*, the ribs will be safe for a couple of hours longer if needed. Shortly before dinner, transfer ribs to a sheet pan, and brush them with the reserved marinade to which you’ve added a little cornstarch. Roast in a hot oven for 20 minutes until the ribs are getting a little char at the edges.

It took me longer to type those directions than you will spend following them. You won’t believe how succulent and tender these ribs are!

Chinese Baby Back Ribs are good with nearly anything, but I’m particularly fond of them with Pineapple Fried Rice, or an Asian salad. Or if you’re feeling festive, go full pu pu and pile them on a platter with egg rolls, rumaki, teriyaki shrimp, and crab rangoon.

So much YUM!