Pork ribs marinated with garlic, ginger and sambal, simmered in their marinade, then browned in a hot oven or on the grill.
These oven-baked pork ribs come out glossy and golden, with tender meat that falls off the bone and smells of ginger, garlic and chili. The Indonesian marinade combines soy sauce and fish sauce with a touch of acidity. For 2 people, allow an overnight marinade, 45 minutes of gentle simmering and 7 to 8 minutes in the oven at 240 °C. With its low-carb option, this recipe joins my collection of keto main dishes.
What Are Oven-Baked Pork Ribs ?
These are pork ribs still joined together in a rack : here, a rack weighing about 600 g for two, left in two large pieces for the oven or cut into portions of two or three ribs for the grill. Remove the membrane on the bone side before marinating for a more pleasant texture.
Cooking happens in two stages. First, the ribs simmer in their marinade, just below boiling, then they cook over high heat to brown. Simmering makes them tender; the oven or hot coals give them their crust.
Origins of This Version
The marinade draws on Indonesian cooking : garlic, ginger, sambal and soy sauce, with fish sauce for depth. Sambal oelek is a raw chili paste with a bold, fiery flavor ; sambal badjak, cooked with aromatics, is mellower and sometimes slightly sweet.
Simmering before grilling is a common technique for ribs : the meat cooks gently all the way through, leaving the high heat simply to brown it.
The Main Ingredients
The marinade combines 3 pressed garlic cloves, 2 tablespoons of grated fresh ginger, 1 tablespoon of homemade sambal badjak and 0.5 tablespoon of sambal oelek. Add 2 tablespoons of soy sauce or tamari, 2 tablespoons of fish sauce (nuoc mam), preferably without added sugar, lemon juice or a splash of white vinegar or apple cider vinegar, and 1 tablespoon of avocado oil, mild olive oil or high-oleic sunflower oil.
Soy sauce and fish sauce provide salt and umami to enhance the pork’s flavor. Save kecap manis, a sweet soy sauce, for other dishes : it caramelizes too quickly over high heat. Tamarind paste is optional ; if it comes in a hard block, dissolve it first in 1 tablespoon of hot water.
If you don’t have sambal badjak, use a little more sambal oelek and 0.5 teaspoon of brown sugar. Brown erythritol or a caramel-flavored liquid sweetener can replace the sugar for a sugar-free version ; with this option, one serving contains about 1 g of net carbs.
Cooking Tips and Serving
Coat the ribs in the marinade, cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, ideally overnight, turning them occasionally. Take them out an hour before cooking, then simmer them in a saucepan with the marinade for about 45 minutes over low heat, with just a small bubble breaking the surface now and then. Lift them out with tongs and let the steam escape so the surface dries.
For the oven, set it to 240 °C and place the ribs bone-side down in a baking dish, preferably on a rack, for 7 to 8 minutes. On the grill, less than 10 minutes over high heat is enough, turning often, as the fat can cause flare-ups. Aim for a golden crust without blackening, since the meat is already cooked. Save the cooked marinade for a soup, or freeze it as soon as it has cooled, with a dated label.
On the same theme : Sambal badjak.
For everyday keto cooking, here are all my low-carb recipes.
Oven-baked ribs with an Indonesian garlic and ginger marinade
Print Recipe Pin the recipe Add to my listIngredients
- 1 rack pork ribs about 600 grams
- 3 cloves garlic
- 2 tablespoons ginger fresh, grated
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce (nuoc mam), preferably with no added sugar
- 1 tablespoon sambal badjak (homemade)
- 0.5 tablespoon sambal oelek preferably with no added sugar
- Lemon juice
- White vinegar or apple cider vinegar, instead of lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil or mild olive oil or high-oleic sunflower oil
Sambal Badjak Substitute
- Sambal oelek a little extra
- 0.5 teaspoon brown sugar (or brown erythritol for a sugar-free version)
- Liquid sweetener caramel-flavored, instead of brown sugar
Instructions
- Press the garlic, grate the ginger, and juice the lemon or lime (if using).3 cloves garlic, 2 tablespoons ginger, Lemon juice, White vinegar
- Mix the garlic, ginger, both types of sambal, tamarind paste (if using), soy sauce, and fish sauce to make a smooth marinade. If using hard tamarind pressed into a block, dissolve it in a tablespoon of hot water first.2 tablespoons soy sauce, 2 tablespoons fish sauce, 1 tablespoon sambal badjak, 0.5 tablespoon sambal oelek, 1 tablespoon avocado oil, Sambal oelek, 0.5 teaspoon brown sugar, Liquid sweetener
- Remove the membrane from the back of the rack of ribs. I usually do this by sliding a pair of large, sturdy kitchen shears all the way under the membrane on the back (the side with the large, flat bones) to start loosening it. A knife is often too thin and pointed to get good leverage. From there, you can usually pull it off by hand in one or two pieces.1 rack pork ribs
- For grilling, I then usually use the shears to cut the rack into four pieces of two or three ribs each. For the oven, two large pieces work very well too. This makes them a little easier to handle than a whole rack, and lets the marinade penetrate better.
- Coat the pieces with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate. Turn them occasionally and redistribute the marinade. Marinate for at least an hour, preferably longer, ideally overnight.
- Take the ribs out of the refrigerator about an hour ahead. Place in a saucepan with the marinade. Heat and simmer for about 45 minutes over low heat, just below a boil or with a small bubble rising now and then.
- Lift the pieces out of the saucepan with tongs. Let some of the steam escape and the pieces dry off.
- Place on the grill over high heat and turn several times. There may be some substantial flare-ups.
- Alternatively, place bone-side down in an ovenproof dish. Preferably use a dish fitted with a rack, so the heat can reach the ribs from underneath too.
- They will probably take less than 10 minutes on the grill, or about 7 to 8 minutes in the oven. The aim is a nice golden crust, not a burnt, black one. The ribs are already cooked, so there is no need to worry about that.
