Thai Style Ribs

It’s getting closer and closer to BBQing season, but for those of us unlucky enough not to have a backyard or patio grill, I found a crock pot recipe for fall-off-the-bone ribs that will make your mouth water. And they really do fall off the bone, and then melt in your mouth because they’re that tender. The Thai style marinade incorporates fresh ingredients like cilantro, garlic, and ginger to produce a sweet and tangy sauce. Garnishing the ribs with lime zest rounds out and accentuates the flavours for a finger-licking-good meal. 

Thai Style Ribs, A La Crock Pot

You Will Need:

A crock pot, duh. This recipe is for a 6-quart slow cooker.

2-3 Racks of Pork  back ribs, cut in half or thirds to fit into your crock pot
1 can thawed and undiluted Pinapple-Apple-Orange juice from concentrate (I used Tropicana but Welches is good too)
3/4 cup Light Soy Sauce
1/4 cup Peanut butter
1/4 cup Chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons Fresh ginger, minced
1 Garlic clove, minced
1 Lime, quartered to squirt over the ribs before eating.
optional: 1-2 Thai red chilis if you like to get spicy

What You Do:

1) To make the marinade combine and whisk together the juice, soy sauce, peanut butter, cilantro, ginger, garlic, and Thai chilis if you’re using them. Pour the marinade over your ribs, seal ribs in an air tight container and let stand in the fridge for 8 hours. 8 HOURS?! Yes, 8 hours. I did mine over night. The longer you wait, the better they taste.

2) If you don’t have a crock pot, cook your ribs on the BBQ, or in the oven, or however you want. Whatever.

3) Place ribs into your crock pot and discard remaining marinade. I found that leaning some against the sides of the bowl gives it charred edges, like you cooked it on the BBQ. 

4) Cook on high for 1 hour, then on low for 5. Don’t open the lid, just enjoy the sweet aromas wafting through your house.

5) Garnish your ribs with a few squirts of lime. This really brings together the flavours, and can’t be left out. 

Who needs a BBQ when you have a magical crock pot? Seriously, Happy Eating.

La Taqueria

2549 Cambie Street
Vancouver, BC V5Z
(604) 568-4406
✭✭✭✭✩

Yo quierro La Taqueria, a bustling pinche taco shop specializing in authentic Mexican tacos. Their website boasts of using organic and sustainable products, their two Vancouver locations have line ups out the door, and their menu lets you mix and match your favourites. What isn’t to love?

For $9.50 you get four tacos of your choice, a good deal but still a little on the pricier side. The tacos are small in appearance however filling; if it’s a big Mexican meal you’re craving you will need more than 4, and that’s where it can get expensive… I do wish there was a little more filling, it was just enough to satiate my appetite and then I was done and onto the next one. Heres what I tried:

Al Pastor: Pork marinated in achiote chili with pineapple.

Hands down our favourite. The pork had a smokey char-grilled taste and the pineapples complimented the flavours perfectly.

Al Pastor

Pascado: Grilled seasonal fish with pico de gallo.

No photo, I ate it too fast!

My second favourite because the fish was tender, fresh and the pico de gallo was delicious. A squirt of lime brought out all the flavours.

Carnitas: Pork confit with pickled red onion

This had a subtle pork flavour, but was not as memorable as the Al Pastor. It was visually appealing but lacked a defined flavour.

Carnitas

Beef Fajita: Skirt steak with onions, peppers and cheese.

This was tasty, but didn’t wow me like the other tacos did; something for the less adventurous palate. I added the salsa verde and lime for a little more zest. 

(in the photo below, the Pascado is third from left, the beef Fajita fourth)

 All tacos come garnished with cilantro and a lime.

I will definitely return to La Taqueria, I loved the ambiance (minus the long line/wait) and I would like to explore their menu further.