First, get your ribs.
4 racks of freedom farmed pork spare ribs (1 rack per person )
1 large onion, finely sliced
1 large lemon, finely sliced
Put the ribs into an oven dish big enough to hold them all without overlapping, scatter the onion and lemon evenly under and over the ribs. Cover the dish with foil and put into a 160c oven, for 20 – 30 minutes. Take the dish out of the oven, remove he foil, and discard all the onions and lemons. Keep any juice in the dish. The ribs will look fairly unappetising at this stage but fear not, they’ll be gorgeous soon.
While the ribs are baking, make the sticky tangy sauce.
Sticky sauce
1 tin chopped tomatoes in juice
3 tablespoons Hakanoa Ginger Syrup
2 tablespoons light soy sauce
1 teaspoon pomegranate paste OR 1 tablespoon of pomegranate molasses
1 teaspoon tamarind paste
1 small chipotle in adobo sauce – La Morena canned chipotles are great.
Put everything in a large saucepan and boil to reduce. Crush the chipotle into the sauce with a wooden spoon as it cooks down, and boil to reduce the sauce until it’s roughly a cup of thick goop.
Paint the sauce over the ribs, top and bottom, and put back in the oven with the heat turned up to 200c. Baste the ribs every 3 to 5 minutes, taking any pan juices as you do, and make sure you use all the sauce. Turn the ribs over from time to time. After 30 mins they will be a deep mahogany colour and there should be no liquid left in the pan, just some lumps of stickiness. If not, turn the grill on to finish them them off with a few minutes of direct heat.
Remove from the oven and leave to stand for 5 minutes before serving, otherwise everyone will burn their fingers. Eat with your bare hands, with plain steam buns (from the chiller at your local asian supermarket) and some juicy cos lettuce leaves on the side.
Provide bowls of warm water and lots of napkins.
