Vietnamese Caramelized Pork Spare Ribs- aka “Suon Ram Man” Recipe

Simply translated Suon Ram Man means salty pork ribs. These pork spare ribs are pan seared in a marinade that’s equally savory, salty, and a little sweet all at the same time! It is a classic Vietnamese dish that is traditionally served with a side of hot jasmine rice and some fresh sweet vegetables like cucumber and tomatoes to offset the saltiness of this dish.

It’s one of my childhood favorites (yes, I have quite a few since my dad was quite the chef) and these are literally finger licking, bone gnawing good.

As a kid I would love chewing and pulling the meat off the bones so it was all about this slight chew factor for me!

There’s many recipes out there and my dad’s other method was basically marinating the ribs then pan frying them see that recipe -here-.

In this recipe we’ll make a caramel sauce to coat the ribs then we’ll braise it in a savory marinade until soft / tender.

Today we’re using a unique oil from YouYou. This oil is made from tea seed oil and has high smoke point at 485 degrees F which makes it very friendly for frying and sautéing. It also has a very light and subtle taste similar to grape seed oil which also has a slightly nutty neutral flavor so it’s perfect for lots of Vietnamese and asian recipes!

INGREDIENTS

1 lb of pork spare ribs (have butcher cut into about 1” strips, then cut into individual ribs cutting between each bone)

PORK WASH

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 tbs vinegar

DRY MARINADE

1/2 tsp vegetable powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

CARARMEL
1 tbs brown sugar
1 tbs neutral oil (I used YouYou)
1/4 cup water

1-2 tbs neutral oil
1/2 shallot onion (minced)
1 minced garlic clove

1 tsp fish sauce

GARNISH
1 bunch scallions (chopped finely)
Fresh black pepper
Jalepeno or thai chili pepper

PREPARATION

1. Cut pork ribs into individual single small ribs (cut between each bones).

2. Rinse pork ribs in a bowl of water. Then refill the bowl with cold water and add salt and water, squish water & ribs around and then let soak for 10 min. Drain, rinse, and pat dry and set aside in bowl.

3. Add vegetable powder, salt, garlic powder, onion powder over pork ribs and toss to coat with your hands so seasoning is evenly distributed and let marinate for 15 min.

3. Add 1 tbs brown sugar over medium heat until it starts melting. When it starts melting lower the heat and add 1 tbs oil til the sugar caramelizes (careful not to smoke or burn the caramel sauce).

2. Add about 1/4 cup water and mix until dark brown

3. Add pork, mix to coat, and then cook a few minutes without lid then transfer to a plate.

4. Add about 1-2 tbs oil to a pan, then add half shallot onion (minced) and 1 minced garlic clove into pan and cook until fragrant and slightly browned.

5. Add your pork ribs back in and stir.

6. Add 1 tsp fish sauce and cook over medium heat until cooked through (add a couple tbs of water at a time if needed so ribs don't burn) and until tender.

7. Plate when finished and add a little black pepper, sliced scallions, and fresh chili to garnish.