Sticky chilli ribs with pineapple salsa
Ready in 2 hours plus marinating Serves 6-8
About 2-2.5kg meaty short
pork ribs
2 Tbsp honey
Zest of 2 limes, finely
grated
2 Tbsp grated or finely minced lemongrass hearts
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp fish sauce
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped or 1 tsp chilli flakes
PINEAPPLE SALSA
½ pineapple, peeled, cored and finely
diced
2 red chillies, deseeded and very finely chopped (fresh or frozen)
20 mint leaves, finely shredded
2 Tbsp lime juice
Salt and ground black pepper
TO SERVE
Rice or kumara chips
Cut pork racks into pieces with 6-8 ribs on each piece. Mix honey, lime zest, lemongrass, soy sauce, fish sauce and chillies and marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes or overnight.
To make the salsa, mix together pineapple, chillies, mint, lime juice, salt and pepper. The salsa can be made in advance and will keep in the fridge for 1-2 days.
When ready to serve, preheat oven to 180C. Place pork and its marinade in a single layer in a large roasting dish. Add 1½ cups water, cover tightly and bake for 1½ hours. Uncover and return to the oven, turning once or twice, until liquid has evaporated and ribs are glazed and sticky, a further 30-40 minutes. Cut pork into individual or double ribs and serve with pineapple salsa on the side. Accompany with cooked rice or kumara chips.
Match this with ...
Kereru Get Quacken Triple IPA 440ml 12% abv ($12.90)
These aren’t just any ribs, oh no. They’re sticky, tender things of heat and tropical beauty. They require more than your average beer to match them in taste and texture. And that’s where this humdinger of an IPA kicks in. Triple IPAs aren’t common and this one is heaving with El Dorado, Zythos, Amarillo, Tahoma and Cascade hops from the United States. It’s also intensely creamy, rich, nutty and holy-moly herbaceous — but beware, each can has 4.2 standard drinks, so make sure the only heavy machinery you’re about to operate are a knife and fork. winecraft.nz
— Yvonne Lorkin