XO pork ribs

XO is a spicy seafood sauce. When you buy it, check the sugar content – if sugar is listed as the first ingredient, reduce the honey by a tablespoon.

SERVES 3 PREP 10 mins COOK 1 hr 20 mins EASY

2 tbsp vegetable oil 700g pork spare ribs 2 garlic cloves, sliced thumb-sized piece ginger, sliced 4 spring onions, chopped 2 star anise a few Sichuan peppercorns 3 tbsp XO sauce 3 tbsp malt vinegar 2 tbsp honey 500ml chicken stock 2 limes, 1 zested and 1 cut into wedges to serve good pinch of chilli flakes

1 Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Heat the oil over a high heat in a large flameproof roasting tin. Season the pork, then fry until browned in places – don’t worry about the ribs getting evenly browned, you are just looking for a little colour as it will add lots of flavour to the dish.

2 Add all the remaining ingredients, except the lime zest and chilli, to the tin, stir, then arrange the ribs so they are in a single layer. Once the liquid has started to boil, transfer to the oven and roast for 1 hr, turning the ribs halfway. 3 Take the tin out of the oven and carefully put back on the hob over a medium heat. The liquid will have reduced considerably. Keep turning the ribs over to coat in the sauce – they are ready once they are all covered and glossy, around 10 mins. Scatter over the lime zest and chilli flakes and serve with lime wedges and plenty of kitchen paper.

PER SERVING 515 kcals • fat 32g • saturates 9g • carbs 14g • sugars 12g • fibre 2g • protein 43g • salt 1.4g