This recipe is my love note to Pan Asian cuisine. The vibrancy, freshness, and acidity in the ingredients and flavor profile of Asian cooking, especially Southeast Asian cooking, is synonymous with summer for me.

Lime, soy, and copious amount of fresh herbs as the base for this recipe add such a body of flavor and the soy is always bringing in that umami baby. Keeping on brand, this recipe is simple and relies on a well-balanced marinade that does most of the work for you. So let’s make this delicious, juicy, and surprisingly light summer dish to serve at your next party.

Let’s get to cooking!

Prep:

• Prep time: 10 minutes

• Bake time: 1hr 10 mins (excluding min. 1 hr marination time)

• Bake temp: 500 F for 10 mins, then 300F for 1 hour

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs pork ribs

• 1/2 cup soy

• 1/4 cup mirin

• 1/2 cup cilantro - chopped

• 1/2 cup spring onions - chopped

• 1/2 medium-sized lime

• 6 garlic cloves - minced

• 2 tbsp ginger - freshly ground

• paprika/Thai chili to taste

• roasted sesame seeds (optional)

• salt/pepper to taste

Recipe:

You can chop all the ingredients in a blender or do it manually. I personally love the process of chopping and grinding, I find it very therapeutic. I also have this theory that preparing certain ingredients separately yields different flavors. I have no idea if there is an inkling of truth in that, haha! For instance, I always use a mortar and pestle to grind ginger and I think it makes a difference. Anyways, back to the recipe, mix all the ingredients, place in a bowl, and set it aside.

Marination:
One reason I love this recipe is because of how acidic the marinade is, and it just cuts and balances the fattiness of the meat.

For the marinade, I like using a storage bag. Put the ribs in a gallon storage bag, add 2/3 of the mixture, and seal and shake the bag well to evenly coat the meat with all the herbs and garlic in the marinade. Marinate for at least 1 hour.

Pro tip: Push the contents of the bag to the bottom and compact it- removing as much of the trapped air from the bottom. Then lay the bag flat on the counter and start to tightly fold from the bottom up pushing out most of the air from the baggie, and then seal it. By emulating vacuum sealing, you accelerate and even out the marination process.

Preheat the oven to 500F. After you’ve marinated your meat for at least an hour, place it arched out in an oven-safe cookware. So basically, the meatier side of the rib is facing up. Slap on some of the leftover marinade, make sure you get all those herbs on it, and bake at 500F for 10 minutes and then decrease the temp to 300F and cook for an hour.

After it’s done baking, glaze/rub the marinade we set aside at the beginning on the ribs to freshen it up, and serve with fresh veggies like cucumbers, lettuce, whatever greens you have. That’s my favorite way of eating it.

Enjoy this fresh and summery take on ribs. Happy eating!