My five-spice obsession sticks to the ribs
Lately I have become addicted to five-spice powder and I needed another excuse to incorporate it into something, so I cooked up a big mess of five-spice and Szechwan peppercorn-rubbed baby back ribs. If they made five-spice shampoo, I would use it. If one could find a five-spice car air freshener, I would buy it. I’m considering concocting five-spice brownie and cookie recipes. I’m sure these already exist, but allow me to indulge in the thrill of a new discovery for just a bit longer, if you please.
What makes this combination of flavors so delightful? I think the answer is related to our fondness for chai. It’s slightly savory, a touch smoky, a little sweet …with a dash of Christmas and a whisper of exotic Asian locales thrown in. The end result is a surprisingly versatile seasoning that compliments meats, veggies and sweets alike.
To make the dish, I began by massaging the seasoning into the ribs, which I have to say felt a little creepy. I put them in my mom’s gigantic Le Creuset casserole and browned them for a few minutes, and then filled it almost to the top with chicken stock. I added a few cloves of garlic, some chopped ginger, and about half a cup of an Asian barbecue sauce that I had improvised out of found ingredients (it tasted a bit weird, which is why I’m not bothering to post the recipe). I left the ribs to simmer for two and a half hours, and returned to find them incredibly tender and moist and suffused with five-spice loveliness.
What makes this combination of flavors so delightful? I think the answer is related to our fondness for chai. It’s slightly savory, a touch smoky, a little sweet …with a dash of Christmas and a whisper of exotic Asian locales thrown in. The end result is a surprisingly versatile seasoning that compliments meats, veggies and sweets alike.
To make the dish, I began by massaging the seasoning into the ribs, which I have to say felt a little creepy. I put them in my mom’s gigantic Le Creuset casserole and browned them for a few minutes, and then filled it almost to the top with chicken stock. I added a few cloves of garlic, some chopped ginger, and about half a cup of an Asian barbecue sauce that I had improvised out of found ingredients (it tasted a bit weird, which is why I’m not bothering to post the recipe). I left the ribs to simmer for two and a half hours, and returned to find them incredibly tender and moist and suffused with five-spice loveliness.
posted by cindym at 11:58 AM
4 Comments:
Cindy,
I share your love of the five-spice. Your ribs look delish!
Do you have any good five-spice duck recipes by chance?
wow, no i don't have any good duck recipes at all. i think i have shyed away from preparing it myself because of the oven-grease factor. but i pretty much can't imagine how you could go wrong with five spice and duck prepared in any way, shape or form. ha! i think if i had to eat one meat for the rest of my life, i would choose duck. let me know if you find a good one.
Maybe I'm way off, but I've got a recipe that doesn't specifically call for five-spice, but I see no reason why it couldn't be added. Its Duck Breast in Plum Sauce. The garnish uses plums, butter, brown sugar and salt. So seems like five spice would blend well. And the little intro to the recipe is classic: "To hunt wild ducks, the Indians covered their heads with hollowed pumpkins, submerged themselves in the shallow waters of the lagoons and patiently waited for the ducks to investigate, grabbing the most curious with their hands." If I had known about this as a kid I'm pretty sure I would have walked around wearing a hollowed out pumpkin!
Hey, it's never too late to start wearing a pumpkin! Go for it!! (And that recipe sounds delish...)
Post a Comment
<< Home