SWEET & SOUR SPARERIBS

An original Colonel & Muoi Khuntilanont recipe...

This originated in a recipe my wife collected when she was a schoolgirl. Since the Fourth of July is coming I thought I'd post it to the usual groups I use.

The chilis can be either prik ki nu (birdseye chilis, or habaneras or Scotch Bonnets) if you like a hot flavor, or prik chi fa (jalapenas) if you want a sweet picquante sauce.

ingredients

1 pound spareribs

marinade:

1 tablspoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon fish sauce
1 teaspoon prik Thai (black pepper), freshly ground
1 tablespoon cornstarch/cornflour
1 tablespoon rice wine

Sweet & Sour sauce:

half a cup of tomato catsup
quarter cup freshly grated ginger
1 tablespoon vinegar (preferably rice vinegar)
1 tablespoon sugar (preferably palm sugar)
one teaspoon fish sauce
one teaspoon prik Thai (black pepper), freshly ground
3 cups of beef stock

You also need:

quarter cup of chilis, sliced
half a cup of fresh pineapple chunks
half a cup of onion or shallots, sliced
quarter cup of pickled ginger, shredded
half a cup of tomato "meat"

Method

Mix the marinade ingredients and marinade the ribs for 4-6 hours in a cool place.

Drop the tomatoes in boiling water to lossen the skins, and peel and quarter them, then discard the seed pulp and chop the 'meat' to yield half a cup.

fry, broil, or barbecue the ribs until golden brown.

In a small saucepan or wok mix the sweet & sour sauce ingredients, and bring to a boil, and then simmer for about 15 minutes until slightly thickened. Strain out any lumps that have formed.

Heat some oil in the wok or a frying pan/skillet until very hot (smoking) and add the chili, pineapple, tomato, onion and ginger, and stir fry until aromatic. Add 1 cup of the sweet & sour sauce mix. In a small bowl combine 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 3 tablespoons of water, and add this to the mixture to thicken it, then add the remaining sauce.

Transfer the suace to a sauce jug, and place the ribs on a serving platter. Drizzle a little sauce over the ribs, and deliver the ribs and the jug of sauce to the diners.