Inspired by Nigella...

Shopping in my supermarket this weekend, a small package of boneless pork spareribs caught my eye. What could I make with this porky little treats? A Nigella Lawson recipe came to mind; her take on Chinese-style spareribs. I am a huge Nigella fan even though my genetic disposition often keeps me from indulging in her calories-be-damned-fare on a regular basis. A few Nigella items have found their way into my culinary repertoire and I figured it was time to venture into some new territory.

Here is the recipe below adapted from (my autographed copy of) Nigella's "Forever Summer" cookbook.

16 pork spareribs

For the marinade:
4 tbsp rice wine vinegar
3 tbsp soy sauce
2 red chilies, roughly chopped
2-inch pieces fresh ginger, peeled and cut into thin slices
2 tbsp honey
2 star anise
1 stick cinnamon, broken into pieces
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp peanut oil
4 scallions, roughly chopped

to cook:
2 tsp five-spice powder
2 tbsp honey

Put ribs into a large plastic bag and add all the marinade ingredients and seal. Ideally leave in the fridge overnight, or for at least a couple of hours.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Let ribs come to room temp and pour entire contents of bag into a roasting pan. Cover tightly with foil and roast for 1 hour.

Take the foil off the roasting pan and sprinkle over the five-spice powder and spoon over the honey. Put the ribs back in the oven for another 30 minutes, taking them out halfway through and turn them over before returning them to become stickily glazed on the underside. Watch that they don't stick; they may only need another 10 minutes to become crispy and glossily brown.

Garnish with chopped chilies, cilantro and/or scallions. (Above serves 4 - 5)

Unfortunately for me, I slightly overcooked my ribs and they were a bit more stringy than I would have preferred. I am sure that if I used more fatty ribs on the bone I would have had juicier results.

I did not have a lot of the above ingredients on hand so I omitted the star anise and five-spice powder in my rendition, again probably to my detriment. What I did have is a slightly (albeit very slightly) healthier ribs than what I would order from my Chinese takeout restaurant. The few pieces that had a bit more fat on them were indeed juicier; proving my point that a fattier cut of meat on bone would have been a better choice.

And in the course of my cleanup, I did locate the star anise that I knew was in my pantry. DAMN!

NOTE: There wasn't a "warning" of the huge crusty mess this leaves in your baking dish and I just spent 20 minutes scouring the pan even after it soaked overnight. Perhaps a layer of foil would help in future for cleanup.

A healthy side portion of a mango and tomato salsa balances out the caloric hit I'll take from the ribs, but as long as you exercise portion control and exercise your ass off the next day - what's the harm with a little weeknight treat?