Happy Year of the Fire Pig!

To celebrate, I'm going to share a tasty pork ribs recipe. It's a riff of a recipe found at epicurious.com. See the original here. Part of my changes are for taste (I prefer chinese five spice to plain star anise; found the original glaze a little too sweet and thought that essentially brining the ribs in the cooking liquid would add extra flavor and juiciness) and part is due to a lack of some equipment (a wok.) Either way--they're tasty. It's a great website if you're into cooking and want to find something a little different.

ORANGE-GINGER GLAZED RIBS

For the Ribs:

2 pounds pork spareribs (boneless) 3-4 lbs if bone-in
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 T grated fresh ginger
4 green onions, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 tsp Chinese Five Spice Powder

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For the Glaze:

1/2 cup chicken broth
3 T. Soy Sauce
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
Zest of 1 orange
1 tsp. Sambal or other chili paste (or to taste)
2 T minced fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
2 T canola oil

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Sesame seeds and sesame oil (for serving)

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Combine, 1/4 cup soy sauce, sliced ginger, green onions and chinese five spice and about 1 qt. water in a dutch oven or other large oven-safe pan. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add ribs to marinate in the refrigerator for a few hours or overnight. Before cooking add enough water to insure ribs are covered. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Simmer until ribs are cooked through, about 30 minutes for boneless, add another 15 to 20 minutes for bone-in. Cool to room temperature in cooking liquid. Drain ribs.

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Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

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Combine chicken broth, soy sauce, sugar, orange zest, ginger, garlic and oil in a heavy saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat and allow to cook until slightly thickened. Pour glaze over ribs in dutch oven. Bake glazed ribs in oven for about 30-45 minutes or until you’re happy with the thickness of the glaze.

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Toss with sesame seeds and drizzle with a little sesame oil before serving.