Spicy Korean-Style Beef Back Ribs

This dish was an experiment; it was a successful experiment. Yet again, I was looking for ways to use some habanero peppers and I decided to try it out in some Korean-inspired cooking.

Short ribs are stupidly expensive (in general but even more so at my local store) so I decided to buy a pack of beef back ribs, which were not only cheaper but were also on sale, and make a kalbi jjim-inspired dish. Of course the twist was that it would be spicy and also cooked in the oven, instead of on the stovetop, since beef back ribs do a bit better in ambient heat, as opposed to simmering in a liquid (at least from my limited experience working with them).

Ingredients [serves 4]:
1 rack beef back ribs
¼ cup soy sauce

¼ apple

¼ onion
1 red habanero pepper
2 tablespoons brown sugar
3 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon grated ginger
¼ cup canola oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 sweet potato, chopped

Start by making the marinade in a food processor. Add in some grated ginger, garlic, apple, onion, habanero, soy sauce, brown sugar, and sesame oil and whizz up until smooth.

Pour the marinade all over the ribs in an airtight container and then pop in the fridge. Leave to marinate overnight.

Place the ribs in a roasting pan and pour in the leftover marinade. Cover with foil and roast at 275F for 3 to 4 hours or until tender. You can check for tenderness by twisting a bone; if it twists easily, it's done.

For added oomph, peel and chop up a sweet potato and add to the pan. Cover with foil again and roast for another hour.

For a bit of color and charring, which we happen to love in our household, pop under the broiler for a minute or two.

Serve hot with your favorite Korean banchan. We had some watercress moochim (which is the same as my kale moochim recipe, except with watercress, duh), some jjigae, and cucumber kimchi.

The meat is super tender, like, you can pull pieces apart with chopsticks, and it's a delicious balance of sweet, savory, and spicy. That balance really embodies what Korean food is all about. I love the soft sweet potatoes, which have also absorbed lots of flavor from the sauce. And if you're like me, you'll love spooning some of the sauce over your rice; it's really good.

Here's the recipe page: