It is 2015 and time for my first cook of the year! It has been ages since I last cooked something beyond scrambled eggs. I love scrambled eggs and I often cook them especially when I am too lazy to takeaway from the neighbourhood. They are such a great fix for breakfast/lunch along with a toasted bread and they are super easy to make. So today, I attempted to make some baked ribs for dinner with my folks. It has been way too long since I last cooked and I miss cooking and experimenting with recipes so much! I have made ribs before (with a different recipe) and I failed terribly. The ribs from my first attempt were tough and difficult to chew even though I rubbed the meat with kiwi before marinating because I've heard that kiwi helps to tenderize the meat. Unfortunately, it doesn't work for me. Not only the meat was not tender but they also did not absorbed the marinade. The main reason for this was due to the membrane underneath the ribs. The membrane prevents the rub, marinade from reaching the meat. So, do remember to remove the membrane when you are making pork ribs! 

Baking pork ribs require a substantial amount of time and effort. The traditional baked pork ribs call for them to stay in the oven for approximately 3 hours and sadly, they would definitely take up quite a bit of your electricity consumption. While researching for alternatives, I stumbled upon a method by chef John from Food Wishes, which require 1hr of boiling and 1/2 hr of baking. 1/2 hr vs 3 hrs? Although it is different from the conventional means, definitely it is worth a try! I have made some changes from the original recipe, making do with what I have in my kitchen. The verdict? Comparing to the common fully oven baked pork ribs that may yield extremely soft meat falling off from bone, the meat from this method do not fall from the bone. Nevertheless, the pork ribs were well marinated, tender and tasted amazing when you bite from it. This recipe is certainly a keeper if you are looking for a shortcut to your 3 hour oven baked ribs and I'll definitely make them again.

Recipe: (Original recipe from food wishes) 
600g of pork ribs

Soup stock: 
4 cups of Water
1tbsp Salt
1tbsp of 5 Spices Powder
1 Onion
5 cloves of Garlic
1/4 cup of rice vinegar

Marinade: 
1.5 tbsp Ketchup
1.5 tbsp Dijon mustard
1.5 tbsp Soy Sauce
1.5 tbsp Rice vinegar
1.5 tbsp Brown Sugar
1/2 tsp 5 Spices Powder

1. Cut onion into pieces and crush garlic. Add all the ingredients of the soup stock into a pot and bring it to boil.
2. Meanwhile, prepare the pork ribs. Remove the membrane and slice the slab of ribs into pieces.
3. After the soup stock has boiled, add the pork ribs and simmer for about 1 hr.
4. Prepare the marinade by adding all the ingredients and mix it well and separate equally into 2 portions: marinade and sauce for dipping. Keep one portion in the refrigeratior.
5. 15 mins before the pork ribs are done simmering in the soup stock, pre heat the oven to 180 degrees celcius.
6. Lay your pan or cooking dish with aluminium foil. Drain the pork ribs and lay them on the foil. Brush some marinade on the pork ribs and bake them for 15 mins.
7. After 15mins, flip the ribs to the other side and apply another layer of marinade on them. Bake for another 15 mins.
8. Optional: apply another layer of marinade and bake for another 2-3 mins.
9. Heat the sauce for dipping in the microwave and serve with the pork ribs.