Parboiled & Fried Garlic Riblets

While flipping through Mom's old recipes, I found one that suggested parboiling ribs to remove impurities. I’d never tried it before and was curious about the results. I was surprised by what surfaced during the process. Now I can’t help but wonder if this happens only when parboiling or if it also occurs when smoking ribs. Part of me prefers not to overthink it and just savor the delicious food, but maybe someday, when I’m ready to know the truth, I’ll explore the science behind it. For now, I’m simply enjoying this garlicky bite of pork rib!

Ingredients

  • 8 pounds pork riblets
  • 1/2 C ginger
  • 1/2 C garlic
  • 1/2 C shoyu
  • 1 C honey
  • Cooking oil for frying

Directions

  1. Cut in between each rib.
  2. Boil a pot of water. 
  3. Add ribs and boil for 5 minutes, if doing it in batches, skim off the floaters.
  4. Drain and rinse with cold water and set aside.
  5. Wash the same boiling pot and add the ribs.
  6. Cover the ribs with water and bring to a boil.
  7. Add ginger and simmer covered about 45 minutes.
  8. Drain and dry the ribs in a colander.

Sauce 

  1. Heat wok over medium high heat
  2. Add oil or tallow and add garlic, about 1-2 minutes until fragrant
  3. Add shoyu and honey, stirring until slightly reduced
  4. Set aside, while frying the ribs

Frying Ribs

  1. Heat cooking oil to 350 F
  2. Add ribs to hot oil and fry in batches about 3-4 minutes until golden
  3. Drain on wire rack.
  4. Toss all ribs in wok with the sauce and enjoy with rice.