A quintessential Vietnamese home cooking staple! These ribs are sweet, savory and delicious.
Growing up, caramelized pork spare ribs were a regular fixture on weekday dinner rotation because they were inexpensive, low-effort, and really tasty!
In a lot of Vietnamese home cooking, you’ll find a common preparation method called “kho,” which is directly translated to “braise.” You’ll find this application in many dishes like Braised Pork Belly and Eggs (Thit Kho Trung), or Ginger Braised Chicken (Ga Kho Gung). The commonality between the dishes starts off with the “nước màu.” Which gives these dishes their signature caramelized color and flavor.
I’ve tested several different ways to make nuoc mau, including adding water, oil, and coconut soda, but the easiest and most foolproof way is just to heat sugar on medium-low until it has turned a dark amber color. Other methods tend to make the sugar crystalize or burn too quickly. The secret here is just being patient with the sugar and letting it do its thing.
Pair it with one of my favorite soups like Canh Rau Day (Egyptian Spinach Soup) or Canh Bi (Wintermelon Soup)!
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This looks absolutely delicious and I have all the ingredients but I can’t find the actual video of you making this, is there one?
How do I explain to the butcher the length I need when asking him to cut through the bones for me?
I LOVE all your recipes, thank you!!
Hey Sian, Thanks for the comment! The spareribs that I pick up are usually cut to size in a long strip, and I only have to cut in between the bones to separate them. You can find the video here: https://www.instagram.com/p/CzIDaegR3BM/
I made these and they came out amazing. First thing first, I did not have Coco Rico, but a Google search stated to use coconut water so that is what I did. I used a 11.5 oz can of it and it only covered half way up the ribs, so I placed water in the can and sloshed it around and almost covered the ribs.
I started getting nervous bc my ribs simmered for 45 mins and they did NOT look like Pudge (or Feed) ribs. Trust the process. I took the lid off and reduced the liquid for like 20 mins and it turned into glaze.
Amazing, 10/10 ribs. Will do again. As I type this I am making our boys caramelized pork belly.
Thanks for the comment, and I'm glad it still turned out well! In my pot, I only need about half a can to mostly cover the ribs, so that would def reduce the time it takes for the sauce to turn into a glaze. Excited for you to try out some of my other recipes!