Thai Style Baby Back Ribs With Smashed Cucumber Salad Recipes

THAI-STYLE SPARE RIBS

Steps:

• Lay the ribs flat in a roasting pan. (You will have 4 long pieces.) Season lightly with salt on both sides.
• Make the marinade: In a small bowl, combine honey, soy sauce, tamarind paste, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, red pepper, black pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg and cayenne. Add the wine and 1/4 cup hot water and whisk well.
• Pour marinade over ribs to completely coat. Marinate at room temperature for 2 hours, turning once or twice, or cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
• Position a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 250 degrees. Transfer the roasting pan, uncovered, to the rack. Roast ribs for 1 1/2 hours, basting with pan juices and turning ribs over every 20 minutes or so. If pan juices seem to be drying out or burning, add a little water to the pan. (Alternatively, cook ribs over indirect heat in a covered charcoal grill, turning ribs every 20 minutes or so.)
• Pour juices from the roasting pan into a small saucepan. Spoon off fat from surface of sauce, then simmer sauce for a few minutes until slightly thickened, then use the juices to paint the ribs.
• Turn up oven heat to 400 degrees. Return ribs to oven for 10 to 15 minutes, until nicely glazed. (Alternatively, return ribs to the grill to glaze.)
• Use a sharp knife to divide ribs, cutting between the bones. Pile ribs onto a platter, sprinkle with garlic chives and cilantro, and serve.

THAI-STYLE BABY BACK RIBS

Steps:

• Build a fire in your grill; when the coals are all covered with gray ash and the temperature is medium-low (you can hold your hand 5 inches above the coals for 7 seconds), you're ready to cook. (For a gas grill, turn all burners to high, lower cover and heat for 15 minutes, then turn burners to medium-low.)
• Sprinkle the ribs generously with salt and pepper, place them on the grill directly over the coals, and cook until a peek inside shows that the meat no longer has any pink at the center, about 10 to 12 minutes per side.
• When the rib racks come off the grill, cut them into individual ribs and place in a large bowl. Add all the remaining ingredients, toss to coat, season with more salt and pepper if needed, and serve.

THAI-STYLE CUCUMBER SALAD

Steps:

• Whisk together the tamarind juice, cilantro, peanuts, rice vinegar, brown sugar, fish sauce, red pepper flakes, sesame oil, and ginger in a large bowl. Stir in the cucumber. Cover and refrigerate for 10 minutes before serving.

THAI CUCUMBER SALAD

Steps:

• Toss the cucumbers with the salt in a colander, and leave in the sink to drain for 30 minutes. Rinse with cold water, then drain and pat dry with paper towels.
• Whisk together the sugar and vinegar in a mixing bowl until the sugar has dissolved. Add the cucumbers, jalapeno peppers, and cilantro; toss to combine. Sprinkle chopped peanuts on top before serving.

CHINESE SMASHED CUCUMBERS WITH SESAME OIL AND GARLIC

Steps:

• Rinse cucumbers and pat dry. Cut crosswise into pieces about 4 inches long. Cut each piece in half lengthwise.
• On a work surface, place a piece of cucumber (or several) cut side down. Lay the blade of a large knife flat on top the cucumber and smash down lightly with your other hand. The skin will begin to crack, the flesh will break down and the seeds will separate. Repeat until the whole piece is smashed. Break or slice diagonally into bite-size pieces, leaving the seeds behind.
• Place the cucumber pieces in a strainer and toss with a big pinch of salt and a big pinch of sugar. Place a plastic bag filled with ice on top of the cucumbers to serve as a weight and place the strainer over a bowl. Let drain 15 to 30 minutes on the counter, or in the refrigerator until ready to serve, up to 4 hours.
• Make the dressing: In a small bowl, combine salt, sugar and rice vinegar. Stir until salt and sugar are dissolved. Stir in sesame oil and soy sauce.
• When ready to serve, shake cucumbers well to drain off any remaining liquid and transfer to a serving bowl. Drizzle with grapeseed or olive oil and toss. Add half the dressing, half the garlic and the red pepper flakes to taste, and toss. Keep adding dressing until cucumbers are well coated but not drowned. Taste and add more pepper flakes and garlic if needed. Serve immediately, garnished with cilantro and sesame seeds.

THAI-STYLE BABY BACK RIBS

Steps:

• Place ribs in a large, shallow dish; set aside. In a small bowl, combine fish sauce, cilantro, peanut oil, soy sauce, lime juice, garlic, lemongrass, sugar, ginger, and sesame oil. Pour over ribs, turning to coat. Refrigerate, covered, overnight, turning occasionally.
• To cook ribs in oven: Remove ribs from refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking. Line a shallow roasting pan with a rack; set aside. Preheat oven to 300 degrees, placing a rack in the lower and top thirds of the oven. Place a second roasting pan half full of water in the bottom third of the oven. Remove ribs from marinade, and reserve excess marinade. Place ribs on rack in roasting pan. Place ribs in the top third of the oven. Bake, basting occasionally with reserved marinade, until the meat begins to pull away from the bone, the bone tips are exposed, and the internal temperature of the thickest part is 155 degrees, 45 to 60 minutes. Remove ribs from oven, and let rest for 10 minutes before cutting into individual pieces. Serve with dipping sauce.
• To cook ribs using a charcoal grill: Remove ribs from refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking. To preheat a covered grill, light a mound of twenty to thirty briquettes on one side of the grate, and open the bottom vents fully. Place a roasting pan filled with 2 inches of water on the other side of the grate. The pan will catch the drippings, and the water will provide moist heat to tenderize the meat. Place four or five chunks of hardwood charcoal directly on the coals.
• When the coals are ready, place a rack over them. Remove ribs from marinade, and reserve excess marinade. Place the ribs on the rack over the water; no meat should be directly over the coals. Cover, making sure lid vents are opposite the ribs and half open (this draws the smoke over the ribs). Place an instant-read thermometer into the top vent hole; it should read between 200 degrees to 250 degrees. The temperature should never exceed 300 degrees. If the temperate is too high, partially close the lower vent. Regulate the temperature during cooking by adjusting the lower vent. Turn and baste the ribs with the reserved marinade every 45 minutes, making sure that you alternate the exposure of the ribs to the hotter edge near the coals. Cook until ribs begin to pull away from the bone, the bone tips are exposed, and the internal temperature of the thickest part is 155 degrees, about 1 1/2 hours.
• Baste ribs with dipping sauce, turning frequently to prevent the sugar in the sauce from burning. Cook for an additional 4 minutes per side. Allow ribs to rest for 10 minutes before cutting into individual pieces. Serve with dipping sauce.