Korean-Style Pork Ribs

These ribs are an ode to my mom. She used to make these as a treat for my sister because she was a picky eater as a kid. However, my sister did love barbecue sauce so she loved these ribs.

Ingredients [serves 4]:
1.5 lb package of pork ribs
1/2 cup barbecue sauce
1/4 cup Korean hot pepper paste (gochujang)
1/2 teaspoon canola oil (or any neutral flavored oil)
1 jalapeno. halved and sliced
3 cloves garlic, chopped

To make the sauce, I started by chopping the garlic roughly and cutting the jalapenos into half-moons. Then I added a little oil to my saucepan along with the garlic and jalapenos. I let them cook for a little bit until the garlic started sizzle. Then I added in the barbecue sauce and hot pepper paste, stirred, and let the sauce simmer for 10 minutes. Because there's vinegar in the barbecue sauce, the jalapenos take on a pickled-flavor and they're so yummy.

Meanwhile, I preheated the oven to 400 degrees. And I boiled some water and let the ribs cook for about 5 minutes. Boiling the ribs first prevents them from getting burned in the oven since the barbecue sauce contains so much sugar. After the ribs were done, I drained them and made sure they were pretty dry before dipping them in the sauce and coating them. Then I put them in a foil-lined sheet pan (for easy clean up) and put them in the oven for 10 minutes, flipping halfway through.

The ribs are ready when the sauce starts to caramelize a bit. Dig in and remember to serve with plenty of napkins.