Ribs two ways – Korean style

Pork ribs is not a common Korean dish.  I think.  At least I’ve never eaten them at the Korean restaurants I’ve been to.  Chime in if I’m mistaken.  So, what makes these ribs Korean?  To start off, a whole lotta garlic and ginger, some sesame oil and honey and apple to add sweetness.  In fact, I’ve been finding these ingredients to be fairly common in most of the Korean dishes I’ve made.  And the only thing that sets apart these sweet and savory ribs from the spicy one (bright red one below) is gochujang – another very common ingredient in Korean cooking.

The sweet and savory ribs are very much like galbi (Korean BBQ beef short ribs) in flavour, while the spicy ribs are similar to jeyuk bokkeum (spicy pork stir-fry).  To me, the spicy ribs taste like chasu (Chinese BBQ pork) with a bit of sweetness and a punch of spice!  It’s our new favourite ribs recipe.  Enjoy!

Recipes (from eating and living):

Each marinade is for 2 whole slabs (5 – 7 pounds) of baby back ribs.

Sweet and Savory Marinade:

• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 2/3 cup water
• 1/4 cup rice wine (or mirin)
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 4 tbsp honey
• 3 tbsp brown sugar (preferably dark brown)
• 3 tbsp minced garlic
• 2 tbsp grated ginger
• 1/2 medium onion, grated
• 1/2 medium sweet apple (Fuji, Gala, or Golden Delicious), grated
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

Spicy Marinade:

• 2/3 cup Korean chili pepper paste (gochujang – adjust to your taste)
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup rice wine (or mirin)
• 2 tbsp sesame oil
• 4 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp brown sugar (preferably dark brown)
• 3 tbsp minced garlic
• 2 tbsp grated ginger
• 1/2 medium onion, grated
• 1/2 medium sweet apple (Fuji, Gala, or Golden Delicious), grated
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

1. Prepare the ingredients for the marinade you have chosen to make. Mix all of the ingredients well.
2. Cut each slab of the ribs into two pieces for easier handling.
3. Rinse the ribs and drain.
4. Coat the ribs well with the marinade, and marinate them for at least six hours (preferably overnight).
5. Turn them over once after half of the marinating time has passed.
6. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
7. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
8. Arrange the ribs, meat side down, on a baking sheet.
9. Cover the baking sheet tightly with aluminum foil.
10. Bake them for 1.5 hours. (you can bake them 30 additional minutes if you want fall off the bones tenderness).
11. Remove the foil cover.
12. At this point, you can finish off the ribs by one of the following two steps:

• Change the oven setting to broil and preheat for a few minutes. Then broil the ribs for 4 – 6 minutes on each side, or until the ribs are slightly charred, and the sauce is caramelized. Baste the ribs with the sauce while broiling.
• Preheat the grill and grill the ribs over medium heat for 5 – 8 minutes on each side, or until the ribs are slightly charred and the sauce is caramelized. Baste the ribs with the sauce while grilling.

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