Pork Riblets in Easy Asian Caramel Sauce

inAsian Recipes, Dinner Recipes, Halfway Homemade Recipes, Pork Recipes, Recipes
  • YIELDS | 4 SERVINGS
  • PREP TIME | 15 MINS, PLUS 1 HR MARINATING
  • COOK TIME | 70 MINS

This dish is sweet, savory, sticky, gooey, satisfying, and fun to eat. Most traditional Chinese caramel sauces are made using a painstakingly complex process. I came up with a halfway homemade version that takes minutes thanks to the store-bought caramel sauce. Serve over a steaming mound of Jasmine or basmati rice. I bet this will become a family favorite.

Ingredients

  • 3 pounds baby back pork ribs, cut in half and separated into riblets (see Notes)
  • 1/3 cup yellow onion, minced
  • 1/4 cup fish sauce
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons sesame, peanut, or olive oil
  • 16-ounce bottle or jar caramel sauce
  • Favorite steamed rice for serving
  • 3-4 scallions trimmed, cut in thirds, and then sliced lengthwise into thin strips, for garnish

Instructions

  1. Add the ribs, fish sauce, and onion to a large bowl, sprinkle in freshly ground black pepper, mix to incorporate, and then marinate in the refrigerator for at least one hour.
  2. In a large pan or Dutch oven, heat the caramel sauce over low-medium heat, until is starts to simmer slightly. To the caramel sauce, add the ribs along with the accumulated juices. Stir and cover. Be sure to keep the lid slightly ajar to allow steam to escape.
  3.  Cook ribs for an hour, stirring every 10 minutes or so. Be careful to not let the caramel burn.
  4. Turn the oven on medium-high broil. Pour the rib mixture onto a parchment lined, rimmed baking sheet, making sure to scrape out all the gooey sauce from the pot. Broil for a few minutes, until the ribs sizzle. Watch carefully so the caramel does not burn.
  5. Pour the ribs and sauce onto a serving platter and garnish with strips of scallion. Serve with a bowl of steaming Jasmine or basmati rice.

Notes

It is best to ask a butcher at your local grocer or favorite meat shop to cut the ribs into riblets for you.