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mekhong style baby back ribs with thai sweet chili sauce

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Mekhong-Style Baby Back Ribs with Thai Sweet Chili Sauce

This recipe is adapted from Leela Punyaratabandhu's at shesimmers.com—I adjusted it to be made in your oven, the ribs baked instead of grilled. Mehkong, a Thai spirit, isn't readily available in the United States, so Leela, and we, use rum or whisky instead.

Ingredients

  • 2 slabs of meaty baby back ribs, weighing between 2½ to 3 pounds each
  • 1 cup dark rum or whisky (tequila works too)
  • 6 large cloves garlic, peeled
  • 2 teaspoons whole white peppercorns
  • 4 cilantro roots or ½ cup chopped cilantro stems
  • 3 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 1/4 cup oyster sauce
  • 1/3 grated palm sugar or brown sugar, packed
  • 2 cups Thai sweet chili sauce, for serving

Directions

  • Cut each baby back rib slab in half for easy handling. Place them in a large mixing bowl.
  • Blend the rum, garlic, peppercorns, cilantro roots in a blender until smooth. Pour the mixture over the ribs.
  • Add the fish sauce, oyster sauce, and sugar to the ribs. Mix well, and then cover and chill 5 to 6 hours to overnight.
  • Bake the ribs, covered in foil, at 300°F degrees until the outside of the ribs look nicely caramelized and they're fork tender, approximately 2 hours. Then, uncover the ribs and adjust heat to 400°F, basting every couple of minutes, approximately 1 additional hour. (You can also grill over low coals until juices run clear when pricked with the tip of a knife.)
  • Cut into individual ribs. Serve with Thai sweet chili sauce.

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