Recipe: Vietnamese-style Nuoc Cham pork ribs

Co-owner and chef Bryan Satterford of Vancouver’s Juke Fried Chicken is here with a recipe for Vietnamese-style Nuoc Cham pork ribs.

These tasty ribs can either be deep fried as they are described below or grilled before being tossed with Nouc Cham vinaigrette and pickled chilies.

The recipe makes roughly 20-24 pieces.

Ingredients

Rib rub

• 15g Coriander seed
• 15g Fennel seed
• 15g Turmeric
• 15g Sweet smoked paprika
• 6g Cumin seed
• 6g Ginger, dried ground
• 4g Cayenne
• 4g Allspice
• 2g Clove
• Salt, preferably diamond kosher
• 2 full racks of St Louis side ribs, cut and trimmed
• 2L Duck fat or canola oil (or enough to cover)

Nouc Cham Vinaigrette:

• 125ml Fish sauce
• 125ml Rice wine vinegar
• 30ml Sugar
• 30ml Tamari sauce
• 1 Thai chili, minced
• 1 large garlic clove, minced

Pickled Chilies

• 100g Chilies, thinly sliced
• 75ml Vinegar
• 35ml Water
• 15g Sugar
• 5g Salt

Additional Ingredients to Finish:

• Rice flour and cornstarch, mixed 1/1 (enough to dredge the ribs)
• Torn mint and Thai basil
• Sliced green onion
• Toasted peanuts
• Toasted sesame seeds
• Canola oil for frying

Method

Rib rub

1. In a mortar and pestle or spice grinder, crush spices until they resemble a fine powder.
2. Rub the spice mixture evenly on the ribs and allow to sit for a minimum of four (4) hours, preferably overnight.
3. Once marinated in the spices, season the ribs with salt and place in a high-sided roasting pan and cover with the duck fat or canola oil.
4. Place in a 300°F oven and confit until ribs are tender but still hold their shape, about 90 minutes.
5. Allow the ribs to cool fully to room temperature before removing from the oil, then chill the racks fully in the fridge.
6. Slice the ribs into single bone pieces before deep frying.

Nouc Cham Vinaigrette

1. Place rice wine vinegar, sugar, Thai chili and garlic in a pot and bring to a boil.
2. Remove from the heat and add fish sauce and tamari.
3. Allow to steep and cool before using.

Pickled Chilies

1. Mix vinegar, water, sugar and salt in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
2. Pour mixture over sliced chilies. Cover container and allow to come to room temperature on the counter before refrigerating.

Ribs

1. Using either a counter top deep fryer or a high sided pot on the stove, heat canola oil to 350°F.
2. Dredge the individually cut confit ribs in the rice flour and cornstarch mixture, being sure to cover them evenly.
3. Tap off the excess flour and drop into the hot oil, a few ribs at a time making sure you don’t overload your pot.
4. Allow the ribs to fry until they become golden and the center is hot, about 3 to 4 minutes.
5. Remove the ribs from the fryer and place on a rack to allow the excess oil to drip off.
6. Repeat steps 2 to 5 until all the ribs are cooked, be sure to allow the oil a few minutes between batches to come back up to temperature.
7. Once all the ribs are cooked, place in a large bowl and toss them with the Nuoc Cham Vinaigrette (see above) and Pickled Chilies (see above).
8. Place ribs on a high rimmed platter and top with the herbs, peanuts and sesame seeds.

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