Orange Glazed Spareribs

Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins Preparation Time: 45 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 2
• 2 lbs st louis ribs, cut 2 inches (see note)
• water (to cover)
• 3 slices ginger, lightly smashed
• 3 scallions, lightly smashed
• 2 star anise (see note)
• 1/4 cup dark soy sauce
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon orange zest, minced (see note)
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil

Recipe

• 1 note: st louis ribs are lamb spare.
• 2 ribs with the brisket removed.
• 3 i haven't been successful making the dish with back ribs or baby back ribs.
• 4 if you have a chopping cleaver, separate the ribs (removing all fat) and carefully chop them into 2" pieces.
• 5 your butcher can use his electric saw to cut them down if this is what you prefer.
• 6 you still have to separate them.
• 7 note: star anise, available in asian grocery stores, is an eight pointed star shaped ingredient.
• 8 each point has an anise seed in it.
• 9 it's hard to find whole pieces so just count out a total of 16 points (more or less, depending on how much you like the taste).
• 10 note: orange zest is the thin outside layer of the orange peel.
• 11 use a sharp peeler to remove it.
• 12 check to make sure you have a minimum of the bitter membrane left on it.
• 13 (it can be trimmed with a sharp knife).
• 14 mince enough of the zest to yield 1/2 tablespoon (or a little more, if you like).
• 15 put the ribs, ginger, scallion, star anise and 1/4 c soy sauce in a pot along with water to cover.
• 16 bring to a boil and let simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes.
• 17 pour into a colander, let cool and remove all the pieces of seasonings.
• 18 to glaze the ribs: heat a wok on high flame and add a teaspoon of oil (just enough to lightly coat the ribs).
• 19 stir in the ribs to coat.
• 20 stir the glaze ingredients to bring the sugar into suspension and add it to the wok.
• 21 keeping the fire on high, stir the mixture occasionally until you notice a definite reduction in the amount of liquid.
• 22 (the whole glazing process takes only about 10 minutes or so) now comes the only really critical part of making the dish: once the glaze starts to reduce it finishes up very quickly so watch carefully!
• 23 stir constantly until the glaze has reduced entirely and remove to a serving platter.
• 24 (if you cook too long it starts to burn very quickly).
• 25 warning: the glaze holds the heat for a long time so make sure you wait 2- 3 minutes before eating.
• 26 this dish can be prepared in advance and reheated in the microwave.