I don’t remember when it was that I saw a tamarind ribs recipe that made me sit up straight, sometime early on in lockdown. I also don’t remember where? Maybe it was in Bon Appetit, maybe it was the New York Times (tamarind + meat is obviously nothing new), but none of the recipes I went back recently to look for were the one. I’m not even convinced at this point that it wasn’t a chicken recipe that caught my eye.
Whenever or wherever it was, I did see a recipe that alerted me to this brilliant idea, which was to marry tangy tamarind with rich, slow-cooked meat. I made note and went about life. But recently, I realized I had a few tablespoons left of a tamarind paste in the fridge, and decided the time was now to make some ribs!
I don’t cook meat like this very often. I think I’ve made ribs once in the last 10 years, and so it felt a little dangerous to be buying a rack of ribs. Whenever I cook with cuts of meat out of my comfort zone, I always have that nagging thought that I could just as easily burn $20 in the oven instead of waste my time ruining a dish. But fear of the kitchen will not feed you, so I researched cooking times, and about 10 different tamarind, honey, and pepper-spiked bbq recipes before cobbling together something that I thought I could pull off. And anyway, if my ribs came out a little on the tough side, or unbearably spicy, who would know?
The happy news I get to report is that the worst case scenario did not happen, and I stumbled into a pretty spectacular Sunday Supper! The ribs were falling off the bone, the sauce was sweet but tangy and had a powerful punch from the habanero, and the sides were a perfect combo of cooling and starchy to tame the richness and the heat. It would be mean of me not to share.
Sticky Tamarind Ribs with Lemongrass Ginger Rice & Cucumber Salad
This recipe makes one full rack of ribs, but the amounts are easily doubled if you wish to make more ribs. The recipe has a lot of down time, but a bit of a scramble at the end to get the sides finished alongside the meat. If you wish, you could finish the ribs off first, then keep in a low oven while you give the rice and salad your full attention.
For the ribs:
1 rack baby back ribs (about 2 lbs)
1 tsp kosher salt
fresh ground black pepper
1 inch ginger, peeled and minced
1/2 orange, juiced
1 tbs soy sauce
1-2 habanero chiles (to taste)
2 tbs apple cider vinegar
2 tbs tamarind concentrate
3 tbs honey
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbs tomato paste
For the Cucumber Salad (adapted from Bon Appetit):
6 persian cucumbers, thinly sliced
1/2 large red onion or 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 serrano chili, thinly sliced (optional)
juice from 2 limes
good pinch of kosher salt
cilantro, for garnish
Ginger Lemongrass Rice:
1 cup jasmine rice
1 lemongrass stalk, bruised and cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 inch piece ginger, cut lengthwise into pieces
Start the ribs. Heat oven to 275 degrees. Place the ribs on a rimmed baking sheet lined with foil, and sprinkle both sides with the salt and a few good grinds of pepper. Bake ribs, meaty side up, for 2 1/2 hours, or until tender.
Meanwhile, in a blender or food processor, add the ginger, orange juice, soy sauce, chilis, vinegar, tamarind, honey, garlic, and tomato paste or ketchup and puree until smooth. Taste and adjust as needed for salt, sweetness, and acidity. Transfer to a small pot and simmer over medium heat until thick and glossy, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
Once ribs are tender, increase oven temperature to 400 degrees. Brush liberally with the sauce and bake, bony side up, for 10 minutes, or until nice and browned. While ribs are baking, start the rice: add all ingredients to a pot with 1 1/2 cups water, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook 15 minutes.
Rotate ribs to meaty side, brush liberally with more sauce, then bake another 5 minutes. Brush again, then bake 5 minutes more. Remove to a cutting board and let rest 5-10 minutes.
Remove rice from heat and let sit, covered, for 10 minutes, then fluff with a fork. Make the cucumber salad: in a bowl, combine the cucumber, onion, serrano, and lime juice with a good pinch of salt and toss to combine. Taste and adjust salt if needed, then garnish with cilantro.
To serve, cut the ribs apart, and serve with rice and salad.
Notes:
Tamarind paste, or concentrate can probably be found in the Asian food aisle of your grocery store, or it is widely available online if not.
To bruise the lemongrass stalk, give it a good whack or two with a rolling pin or something heavy.