The Art of Asian

We borrow a baby back ribs recipe from cookbook author Jaden Hair.

By Lael Hazan

Other than Italian food, our family particularly enjoys Asian cuisine and culture. My mother-in-law, Marcella, first ventured into teaching cooking due to a Chinese cooking class. After the class the other students wanted to learn Italian and asked her to teach them. So one could say that it was because of Asian cuisine that Marcella’s career in food began. Marcella and Victor visited Japan in the ’70s, and in her memoir, Amarcord, she writes that some of the most memorable meals in her life were eaten in Kyoto.

I’m from California and miss the marvelous variety of Asian delights. Since I can’t go to San Francisco and have dim sum or ginger crab on a regular basis, I’ve started learning how to make it myself. Fortunately, one of last year’s Asian cookbooks, The SteamyKitchen Cookbook, is by Sarasota area resident Jaden Hair.

Jaden Hair’s blog http://steamykitchen.com/ is one of the hottest food blogs around. You may have noticed that she was a featured blogger during the holidays on http://www.oprah.com/index ? If you want to learn the power of the Internet, just watch her. She is a sensation! Not only did Jaden write the recipes herself, she also taught herself photography and took all of the luscious photos in the book. And she brings the informal chattiness that makes her blog so appealing to her book. She talks about herself and her life; reading it makes one feel that a girlfriend has come over to cook by your side.

From Jaden’s book we chose to make her Hoisin and Honey Glazed Baby Back Ribs. They looked delectable. The fun and homey head note correctly warns that these ribs are not to be made when using your best table linens, as the sauce is drippingly good. Straightforward, the recipe is clear and inviting. Jaden talks you through it and makes it easy for a novice cook to follow. We were a bit puzzled as to how long to cook the ribs because she says three or up to six hours. However, we decided three-and-a-half hours was plenty, and as promised the meat fell off the bone. The delectable ribs made a wonderful dinner and our children asked for more. We hope that Jaden would approve, but we kept the extra hoisin sauce and used it to make scrumptious chicken wings later on in the week.

Hoisin and Honey Glazed Baby Back Ribs

The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook by Jaden Hair

Serves 6 as part of multicourse meal

5 lbs. (2.25 kg) baby back ribs

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

(makes 1 cup/250 ml)

HOISIN HONEY GLAZE

1 teaspoon high-heat cooking oil

3 cloves garlic, finely minced

1/2 cup (125 ml) hoisin sauce

1/2 cup (125 ml) honey

1 1/2 teaspoon five spice powder

1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce

2 teaspoons rice vinegar

Preheat the oven to 300 F (150 C). With a knife or sharp kitchen shears, cut the ribs into sections with 5 or 6 ribs each (enough for a serving). Season the ribs on both sides with the salt and pepper. Place the ribs in a large Dutch oven or roasting pan (do not use a sheet pan—it’s too shallow to hold in all the juices during roasting). You can stack ribs on top of each other, but try to crisscross them. Cover tightly with a lid or double layer of aluminum foil and slow roast for 3 hours (or up to 6 hours). Remove the ribs to a large sheet pan.

To make the hoisin honey glaze, heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Just when the oil starts to get hot, add the garlic and fry until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add the remaining ingredients and simmer over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until thickened to where it coats the back of a spoon.

When the glaze is ready, turn the oven to broil and set the oven rack in the upper one-third position. Arrange the ribs in one layer on the sheet pan, meat side up. Generously spoon or brush the glaze on top of the ribs and broil for 3 minutes, until the glaze begins to bubble and caramelize. Keep an eye on the ribs to make sure you don’t burn the glaze! Brush on additional glaze if you want before serving.

Posted: 1/15/2010 9:52:09 AM | 0 comments

The Art of Asian

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