Barbecued Korean Ribs

We were given some Korean ribs by houseguests, and I was excited to try something new. Korean ribs are cut across the bone, so that each strip of meat is about 1/4" thick, so they cook really quickly on the barbecue. Of course, marinading for flavour and tenderness is a must, so I went through the fridge, and here is what I came up with...

The same houseguest had brought some orange puree (she basically just pureed the oranges in her fridge), so I used some of this, and used up my ginger, sesame seeds, green onions, half a lime and the soy sauce.

The meat was full of flavour (I felt a bit more soy sauce was called for, so I have adjusted that in the recipe for you), tender with crispy edges. The ribs are quite rich, because of the fat, but it does crisp up on the barbecue, so if you're ok with it, you get that bonus! Half of us were happy about this, the rest of us were glad to share!

To make the marinade, combine:

Juice of half a lime
3 - 4 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sriracha
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 green onions, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3/4 cup orange puree

Give the ribs a quick rinse under cold water, and pat dry with paper towel.

I used:

2 pounds Korean style ribs






Place the ribs and marinade into a resealable plastic bag, and close, pressing out as much air as possible. Place into the refrigerator for 4 - 6 hours, or overnight if possible.

Remove the ribs from the marinade, and cook on a hot barbecue, turning once or twice, until cooked through (no longer pink around the bone).

This should take about 10 - 15 minutes.





Serve the ribs, garnished with minced chives or green onions, and toasted sesame seeds. Make sure there are plenty of napkins available at the table.

I served coconut rice, steamed snap peas and an Asian Slaw ( from the post Mango and Tamarind Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Asian Slaw).

• The marinade can be used with other ribs...baby back, short ribs, country style ribs...just keep in mind that these require much longer cooking, and are best cooked in the oven on a low temperature for a few hours, before being finished off on the grill.
• Not everyone has orange puree, or oranges to puree, so some other options are pureed ripe mango; frozen juice concentrate that has been defrosted (orange or mango), tamarind puree, hoisin sauce.
• If you use tamarind, you will need to add a bit more sugar; if you use hoisin you will need less or no sugar. Taste and adjust the seasoning of the marinade before adding it to the meat.
• Sesame oil instead of vegetable oil would be a good idea, adding a nice depth of flavour. I have no sesame oil at the moment, so I made do.
• This recipe fed four adults.