Chinese BBQ Pork Ribs

Glistening pork ribs, slightly charred at the edges to give a smoky flavor.

The hubby and I have been eating meal after meal of pasta recently cos:

1) I was testing out new pasta recipes
2) I wanted to use finish some stuff in the fridge ie: ricotta and mascarpone cheese

and so the craving for Chinese food hit me pretty fast and hard and before long, I was reminiscing about the Hong Kong spare ribs I used to eat at the zi char stall near my hubby's house. While I contemplated just going to a Chinese restaurant here for a quick fix, curiosity got the better of me and I decided to try making it myself hurhur.

Well, it turned out simply delectable! It was juicy on the inside, and slightly charred at the edges to give a nice smoky flavor. I used the fleshier kind of pork ribs this time so it was a bit like eating char siew. I'm going to try using the boney kind of spareribs the next time I make them! :)

Paired perfectly with some fluffy white rice. Yums!

Chinese BBQ Pork Ribs
1 tablespoon of Chinese five-spice powder 
1 full rack St. Louis-style spareribs, cut into individual ribs (about 3 pounds total)
1/2 cup hoisin sauce 
1/4 cup shaoxing wine or dry sherry 
2 tablespoons soy sauce 
1/4 cup honey

Sprinkle five-spice powder evenly over ribs and rub into them until thoroughly and evenly coated. Set ribs aside.

Combine hoisin sauce, shaoxing wine, soy sauce, and honey in a zip-lock bag. Add ribs to bag and mix until evenly coated. Seal bag, transfer to refrigerator, and let ribs marinate at least overnight and up to three nights.

When ready to cook, preheat oven to 375°F. Remove ribs from bag, wiping off excess marinade with your fingers (reserve the marinade). Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, set a wire rack on it, and spread the ribs evenly over the rack. Cover with aluminum foil and roast for 1 hour. Remove foil, brush ribs with marinade, increase heat to 450°F, and continue to roast until charred, glazed, and sticky, about 15 minutes longer, rotating ribs and basting with marinade once more during cooking (I did it after a 10-minute interval).
 
Let rest 10 minutes, then serve.

Adapted from Serious Eats. 
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Pasta with Bacon, Roasted Bell Peppers & Peas

You won't believe how delicious this pasta is until you've tasted it for yourself! This is one of my favorite pasta dish and the last time I did it, I ate way too many helpings than I normally would cos it was just so flavorful!

The smokiness from the roasted bell peppers/capsicums, the sweet peas, the salty and fatty bacon and the cheesy cream that binds them all together - to describe it in Singaporean style - it was super shiok!

Not to mention easy! You can whip it up in no time, and here's how! 

Pasta with Bacon, Roasted Bell Peppers & Peas
(serves 4)

Ingredients
3 strips of thick-cut uncured bacon (you can use normal thick-cut bacon too), cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 red bell peppers
3/4 cup of tiny frozen peas, thawed
3/4 cup of heavy whipping cream
2 tablespoons of butter
2 teaspoons of vegetable oil
3/4 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for sprinkling
1/2 pound of pasta, preferably short, tubular ones like macaroni or penne
Salt
Black pepper

Roast your bell peppers until the skin is charred and black. You can place them in the broiler of your oven or over a grill. If you can't do either one, you can also use a skillet. But the charring would be less uniform if you use this method. Simply bring an your skillet (with no oil) on high heat. Sear the sides of the bell peppers until they are blackened.

When the bell peppers are done, put them aside to cool. Then, remove the charred skin from the capsicum. The flesh of the bell pepper should be tender but not mushy. Remove the seeds and cut them into small cubes.

Cook your pasta according to the package's instructions.

While your pasta is cooking, melt the butter with oil over medium heat. Cook the bacon in the butter for 4 minutes.

Add the peas and cook for one minute, stirring to coat well.

Then, add in the peppers, stirring for half a minute or less.

Add the cream, a pinch of salt and several grindings of pepper and turn up the heat to high. Cook, stirring constantly, until the cream thickens.

Toss the sauce with cooked, drained pasta, mixing the Parmesan cheese in at the same time. Serve immediately, with extra grated cheese on the side.

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