Tuesday, August 10, 2010

Nunu's Kitchen - Honey Garlic fried ribs.

Finally another recipe! This one is quite special, this is potentially the recipe I'll be submitting to the Mapleleaf Prime Pork Blogger cook off contest.
Yours truly was one of the 20 bloggers on the West Coast selected to take part in this contest. Wow, I really feel quite grateful to be selected into such a niche group!
The winner gets $500 worth of groceries courtesy of Mapleleaf Canada. I know this will probably be a long shot considering the talent of the other contestants, but the reason I entered is because I'm hoping to donate the groceries to one of the non-government subsidised food banks/soup kitchens here in British Columbia. I find it quite appalling that in a 1st world country like Canada, there are still so many people who are starving on the streets.
EDIT: I have decided to enter this recipe into the contest! Please show your support by voting for me here. You can vote once every 24hrs. Nunu's Kitchen needs your support!! Thank you!


Honey Garlic Fried Ribs
You will need:
  • 1 package Mapleleaf Prime Pork Back Ribs - cut into individual ribs.
  • Canola oil for frying.
  • For the marinade:
  • 3 tbsp cooking Sake;
  • 1 knob fresh ginger approx 2 finger lengths in size - juiced and pulp discarded;
  • 2 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce;
  • 1 tbsp brown sugar;
  • 1/2 tsp salt;
  • For the breading:
  • 1/2 cup bread crumbs;
  • 1/4 cup corn starch;
  • For the sauce:
  • 3 cloves garlic - minced
  • 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
  • 3 tbsp honey
  • 1/2 cup tomato sauce
Le Methode:
  • soak cut ribs in cold water for approx 30mins to drain away any traces of blood;
  • Prepare marinade by mixing together the Sake, soy sauce, ginger juice, salt and sugar. It should taste sweet, yet salty at the same time, the fragrance of the Sake and the warm heat of ginger should be noticeable.
  • Marinate the ribs in the marinade for at least 6 hours and preferably overnight.
  • Once ribs are ready, remove them from the marinade juice and bread them in a mixture of breadcrumbs and corn flour. If you want an even fluffier and crunchier exterior, first dip the ribs in an egg wash before breading.
  • Heat oil on medium heat. Test by dropping a bit of the breading in. It should not be so hot that the breading will immediately turn black!!! It should roll around and turn a nice golden colour. I don't have a deep fryer so I used the smaller pot I had xD hey it works!
  • Fry the breaded ribs. I did mine in batches of 3 and it took approximately 5-6 minutes to turn golden. Once the ribs turn a medium golden colour and no more blood comes out of the bone, remove the rib and allow it to drain on some kitchen towel.
  • Turn heat on high and allow oil to heat up.
  • Fry the ribs a second time, about 30 seconds each should do it. They will now turn a darker golden colour and will be really crispy on the outside. Remove and allow to cool and drain on some kitchen towel.
  • Make your sauce. Mix together the tomato sauce, honey and chilli flakes. Turn heat on low medium, in a pan, sauté the garlic in some oil. When garlic get fragrant, add the tomato sauce mixture. Stir well until sauce thickens. Er....yeah I didn't take a photo of the sauce but if you look in the right hand corner of the photo below, that's how the tomato sauce, honey, chilli flakes mixture should look like xD
  • Add fried ribs to sauce. Mix well. Excuse the shoddy photo, my usual photographer was off playing Starcraft -__-
  • Once ribs are evenly coated, remove from pan and serve immediately.


Please tell me what you guys think!!! should this be the recipe I enter into the contest? or is it too...blah? Any tips?

18 comments:

  1. Hm... if you want my honest opinion, its a little blah (don't take it the wrong way, it looks DELICIOUS). But I think they want something that focuses more on elevating the flavours of the pork itself rather than masking it with other flavours of sauces, etc. Also they probably will include this on their packages of pork in the future or something, so maybe something that is unique but could be enjoyed by everyone.

    Other than that. I want some of that pork!!

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  2. That's what I'm thinking too right >__>
    I was hoping that it'll be "unique" cos it'll be Asian flavoured instead of the usual, roast it, bake it, stick it on the grill type of recipe.
    Back to the drawing board I guess.
    Don't worry, I want you guys to be brutally honest!

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  3. That is very true, where you're coming from and I completely agree. But I dunno, maybe incorporate various usages of pork, like homemade pork stock as sauce base, etc. That way its not as generic as the other recipes but you still get the full flavour of the pork?

    My personal fave way to cook pork is pork stock + ribs + winter melon slow cooked until everything is soft but still chewy. Droolness.

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  4. Miss NuNu!

    I think that pork looks really good! it's 12:35am and it's making me hungry :S.

    Sheila does have a point, I also think it would be good to develop something that would get the full flavour of the pork..and how about something easier to make? Deep frying in oil really scares me..what if you cooked the pork without deep frying it..with just the sauce?

    Good luck! and blog about it when you come up with anything new!

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  5. Oh dear, I'm not a pro - I usually eat whatever that's served or cook a simple and quick meal =[

    Good luck in the contest!! =D

    Miss NuNu, I couldn't stop lol-ing when I read this: Cedric Diggory did not die when hit with Avada Kedavra. He was turned into Edward Cullen, a fate worse than death.

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  6. It looks really delicious! Good luck on the contest :)

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  7. I would not know what to do with a pack of ribs except kidnap you and get you to cook for me.

    SCRUMPTIOUS!!

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  8. Ooooh it looks delicious!!! You are making me hungry for pork - that almost never happens!

    But then again, Sheila does have a point. Hmmmm... ugh, I wish I had better ideas!

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  9. i think it's a good recipe.. nvr seen ribs cooked this way! usually they don't have the deep fried part.. so i think it's something new, to me at least..

    im drooling all over these ribs! mmmmmmmm

    GL with the contest

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  10. Wah I'm drooling, this looks amazing and delicious! You must be such a talented chef. :) Thanks for sharing your recipe once again. Ah I want to try this as the end results look awesome but I think I'll have to get my boyfriend to do the frying part haha too scary.

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  11. It looks reeeeally really good! I'm not much of a chef, though, so I can't really say if it looks plain or not (basically I eat anything). Good luck in the contest!

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  12. I love when ppl can leave proper constructive criticism. some ppl don't seem to get that just saying something 'sucks' isn't CC at all. so just wanted to add that because it caught my eye~

    I don't cook, mainly cause I tend to burn things...and do love to eat my meet overly done...(I love tough. I love when my Kalbi is slightly burnt...) so I can't say anything, but I do like that this seems like something I might be able to pull off somewhat~

    Good luck~ I hope that the new idea goes well~~~

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  13. Personally I think your ribs look yummy! :D Well the contest probably depends on your audience as well - do you know who is going to be voting - is it purely the audience or does Maple Leaf get a say as well? Did they say what they would be basing the judging criteria on - visuals, health value, easy to cook, or uniqueness? Just don't want to steer you in the wrong direction if I don't have all the facts :D

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  14. looks sooo yums! starcraft steals my bf all the time! grr

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  15. Mmmmm looks so good.
    Haha aren't all guys off playing starcraft lol

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  16. Your recipes keeps getting better and better! Ribs looks DELICIOUS and you best know that I voted for you!! ♥

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  17. this looks mighty good! my husband LOVES ribs haha

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  18. hahah is your boy a gamer? Mine already finished the game after a couple marathon sessions! Boys :p

    This looks delicious! I think for most "Western" people, this will still be different enough that they will think it's very unique, however if you are really trying to go unique, what about a SE Asian style of making it, or using Indian spices? haha I dont' even know if that would taste good. Good luck though with whatever you decide!

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