In Cooking, Blokes & Artichokes: A Modern Man’s Kitchen Handbook chef, and now author, Brendan Collings provides guidance to all men. Including the kitchen-challenged. You don’t really need courage to cook, just a smile, a great guide, and perhaps a beer in hand.
Take this rib recipe. Simple, for he calls in dead easy. And surely sweet, with a palm sugar glaze. Protein and sugar can compete for your satisfaction.
Here Brendan uses Chinese Five-Spice seasoning, which is not named because of the number of ingredients but because it evokes all five of your principal tastes: sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami. Yes, umami is now officially Taste #5.
There are two recipes here, one for the ribs and the other for the palm sugar caramel that crowns them. You’ll probably find other uses for this caramel sauce so don’t lose the recipe! It is, of course, not caramel for your ice cream.
Dead-Easy Pork Ribs with Palm Sugar Glaze
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
- 2 racks St. Louis- style pork ribs
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons Chinese five-spice powder
- 1 cup Palm Sugar Caramel (recipe follows)
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 225°F.
Season your ribs on both sides very simply with salt and pepper and dust with the Chinese five-spice powder.
Place the ribs meat-side down in a pair of aluminum or glass baking dishes. Cover the dishes with aluminum foil and roast the meat for 4 hours.
Drain off the drippings. Flip the ribs over using two spatulas (and an extra pair of hands, if you have them) so the meat side is now up. Be gentle, as they may be so tender they start falling apart. Paint a layer of palm sugar caramel on the ribs and return them to the oven uncovered for an additional 20 to 30 minutes. Serve straight out of the oven.
Palm Sugar Caramel
Serves: 1 ½ cups
Ingredients:
- 2 cups palm sugar
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 2 cups thinly sliced shallots (from 4 to 6 large shallots)
- 1 dried hot red chile, such as chile de arbol
- 3 star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup Thai fish sauce
Preparation:
In heavy-bottomed medium saucepan set over medium heat, combine the palm sugar, lemon juice, and 4 cup water and bring the mixture to a boil.
Using a wet pastry brush, wash down any sugar crystals that have stuck to the side of the pan. Reduce the heat to medium-low and let the mixture simmer undisturbed until it begins to reach a medium amber color, about 20 minutes (watch the pot carefully, because caramel can go from pale to burned in a matter of seconds).
Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the shallots, chile, star anise, cinnamon, and black pepper. Carefully whisk in the fish sauce and another ¼ cup water—the caramel will seize up and spit. Return the pan to medium heat and stir it until the caramel is smooth and dissolved. Pour it into a heatproof bowl and let it cool completely. Remove the chile, star anise, and cinnamon stick and use while warm.
Source: Cooking, Blokes & Artichokes by Brendan Collins [Kyle, 2016]