Iga Babi Bali (Balinese Sticky Glazed Pork Ribs)

Name: Iga Babi Bali (Balinese Sticky Glazed Pork Ribs)
Total time: 2 h 30 min
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Cuisine: indonesian
Ingredients: 8 long red chiles (about 5 ounces), such as cayenne, trimmed, roughly chopped and deseeded, if you prefer less heat; 12 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped; 1 (5-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped; 4 shallots, preferably Thai, or 2 small banana shallots, peeled and roughly chopped; 1/2 cup rice vinegar or white wine vinegar; 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon store-bought or homemade kecap manis (see Note for recipe); Scant 1/2 cup palm sugar or brown sugar; 1 teaspoon flaky sea salt; 2 racks (1 1/2-pound) pork spare ribs

Recipe from Lara Lee

Adapted by Kayla Stewart

Published Oct. 28, 2020

Iga Babi Bali (Balinese Sticky Glazed Pork Ribs) — Johnny Miller for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Rebecca Jurkevich.

Total Time: 2½ hours
Rating: 4(249)
Comments: Read comments

The smell of Balinese barbecued pork ribs is a harmonious scent typically associated with trips to the picturesque island, but this recipe from the chef Lara Lee’s book, “Coconut & Sambal,” brings the aroma to your home kitchen. Juicy, tender pork is glazed in sticky kecap manis (a sweet condiment that’s typically made with palm sugar and soy sauce, commonly used throughout Indonesia and found at most Asian markets), yielding ribs that are sweet, smoky and viscid. The garlic and chile marinade packs additional heat. (Look for moderately hot red chiles, such as cayenne, that are the length and width of your index or middle finger.) Ms. Lee loves preparing the dish for dinner parties, as they can easily be made in advance and reheated (cover the ribs with foil and place in a 300 degree oven for 10 minutes). You can serve these with potato wedges or morning glory (water spinach). —Kayla Stewart

Featured in: Capturing the Heat and Crunch of Indonesian Cooking

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Ingredients

Yield:4 to 6 servings

8long red chiles (about 5 ounces), such as cayenne, trimmed, roughly chopped and deseeded, if you prefer less heat
12garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
1(5-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
4shallots, preferably Thai, or 2 small banana shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
½cup rice vinegar or white wine vinegar
½cup plus 1 tablespoon store-bought or homemade kecap manis (see Note for recipe)
Scant ½ cup palm sugar or brown sugar
1teaspoon flaky sea salt
2racks (1½-pound) pork spare ribs

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare the marinade: In a food processor, blend all the ingredients except the pork with ½ cup water until smooth.
Step 2
Line a roasting pan with four long layers of foil in the shape of a cross (two overlapping horizontal strips and two overlapping vertical strips), with enough excess foil spilling over the sides to wrap the ribs. Lay the ribs onto the foil in a single layer and pour over ½ the marinade, massaging it into each rack. Wrap the ribs with the foil and roast in the oven on the top or middle shelf for 2 hours.
Step 3
While the ribs roast, pour the remaining marinade into a small saucepan and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer the sauce until it has thickened to the consistency of gravy and is deeply flavorful, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Step 4
To check if the ribs are done, test an end rib: When you tug the end bone, the meat should start slipping off the bone. If they are not yet tender, return them to the oven and continue cooking until tender, testing every 10 minutes.
Step 5
Once the ribs have finished roasting, remove the roasting pan from the oven and turn on the broiler. Open the foil and brush some of the reduced marinade onto the ribs, reserving the rest as a dipping sauce. Broil the ribs for 5 to 7 minutes, uncovered, until they darken and the marinade caramelizes. Serve immediately, with the remaining marinade in a dipping bowl.

Tip

To make your own kecap manis, in a medium saucepan, bring ¾ cup light soy sauce or gluten-free tamari with 1¼ packed cups palm sugar or light or dark brown sugar to a simmer over medium. Reduce heat to low and cook until mixture thickens to the texture of maple syrup, about 5 minutes. Let cool. Cover and refrigerate for up to a few weeks. Makes about ¾ cup.

Ratings

4 out of 5

249 user ratings

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Comments

Scottie4 years ago

I made this with beef short ribs and got rave reviews from the whole family. I used 5 oz of Sriracha instead of the chili’s just because it was what I had on hand.

UWSGrrl4 years ago

We are are having a Zoom Super Bowl party so I’m currently making my fourth batch of these ribs. I’ve learned that if you want the ribs to be truly sticky do not use the watery marinade to brush the ribs. Use some of the leftover kecap manis instead brushed on in thin layers about once every 10 minutes over a half hour period. I found that a pound per person was a good serving for a limited menu potluck.

coffeespoon4 years ago

I made the sauce once but the recipe twice. 1.5 pounds ribs wasn't very much (went by weight) and was just 1 rack. I ended up using the leftover sauce to marinate 2 more full racks. The second time, I scraped off the marinade, heated it up, and at the end of the cooking the two racks, poured off the liquid (there was a lot), defatted, and used the broth to augment the sauce. It felt like I could keep going with the sauce forever! But we stopped here. Very tasty ribs.

Gary3 months ago

These were very tasty. I didn’t have fresh chilis, so I used 3 medium-sized dried guajillo chilis and one very hot dried Thai chili, which I broke up into pieces and soaked in 1/2 cup boiling water. I didn’t use this, or any, water to make the marinade, but just added the reconstituted chilis to the other marinade ingredients and it turned out to be very gravy-like after processing and delicious. I’ll definitely make this again!

Melissa4 months ago

Made these tonight as a last minute decision. Missed adding marinade to ribs as they were already in the oven. Used the note of soy sauce/brown sugar, loosely followed the ingredient portions and this turned out PERFECT. Literally finger licking delicious. Recipe is flexible and adaptable

emilyg1 year ago

Had to use a combination of various peppers-a jalapeño and gosh knows what others-and did not have exactly the right other items, but it turned out wonderfully and got rave reviews. The homemade kecap manis was revelatory and now with leftovers I will look for other ways to use it.

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