Cooking can be as easy as 1, 2, 3
- 3 days ago
- 6 min read
Cooking can be as easy as 1, 2, 3 – and 4 and 5 – quite literally.
My brother-in-law, Danny, is a wonderful cook. Growing up with working parents, his mother taught him a few simple recipes from the age of six.
That’s how the little chef was born. To this day, one of our family’s favourite is his signature dish, which he calls ‘Number Ribs’.
Formula
The idea is beautifully simple. You just add the following ingredients to the ribs:
1 part wine
2 parts sugar
3 parts soy sauce
4 parts vinegar
5 parts water
Clean the ribs, mix the sauce ingredients together, put everything in a saucepan and simmer until the sauce becomes glossy, sticky and deeply aromatic. The ribs slowly absorb the liquid to create a perfectly balanced dish that is sweet, sour and savoury all at once. This is the kind of flavour that is comforting, filling the kitchen with an irresistible aroma that draws everyone to the table before you’ve even called them.
After Danny met his wife – my younger sister, Nancy – he shared the recipe with her. She has since mastered ‘Number Ribs’ and is often called upon to make it for family gatherings. Even my older sister, Rina, who doesn’t often cook, can now recreate it to a high standard. I’m inspired to share this recipe with you – whether you’re a beginner or an experienced cook, this is one worth trying. This process is remarkably reliable. It doesn’t matter who makes it, the formula always works.
To do or not to do
One small but important step in preparing the ribs is deciding, during the cleaning stage, whether to remove the thin membrane on the back of the ribs, or not. This detail often divides cooks.
Removing the membrane allows the marinade and sauce to penetrate the meat more evenly, resulting in a tender bite throughout the rack. It also improves the overall texture by preventing the slightly chewy, rubbery layer that the membrane can create after cooking.
However, some cooks choose to leave it on as the membrane helps hold the rack together during long cooking, keeping the ribs intact and making them easier to handle. It does add a slight chew and structural bite that some people actually enjoy.
For beginners, leaving it on can be more convenient and forgiving, as it requires one less preparation step. Ultimately, it comes down to personal preference.
Cleaning of ribs
In this recipe, the cornflour method is used to treat the ribs. Massaging the ribs with cornflour helps draw out residual blood, remove surface impurities, any tiny bone fragments and eliminate the ‘gamey’ smell. This step does more than cleaning the ribs, the cornflour also acts as a gentle tenderiser, resulting in a cleaner taste and a more velvet-smooth texture after cooking.
Another way to clean the ribs is to blanch them. Place the ribs in cold water and bring it to the boil. As the water heats up, blood and marrow proteins are drawn out from deeper within the meat and rise to the surface as scum. Remove this by draining the ribs and rinsing them thoroughly under cold water. Blanching is particularly useful when a clear cooking liquid is desired. In soups, for example, it results in a clear, refined, fragrant broth. In stews, it prevents the cooking liquid from becoming overly cloudy or greasy during long, slow simmering, giving the final dish a cleaner, more polished finish.
Simplicity and structure
What I find most useful about recipes like this is how every step has a clear purpose – from the way the ribs are cleaned, to how the sauce is built. Even the smaller decisions, like whether to blanch or use the cornflour method, are not about right or wrong, but about achieving the desired outcome. Once you start cooking this way, you realise that good food is less about complexity and more about understanding what each step is doing.
My philosophy
I return to this spirit of simplicity again and again in my own kitchen. Take my tandoori salmon, for example. It uses just three ingredients – salmon, yoghurt and tandoori masala – yet delivers bold, vibrant flavour in under 20 minutes.
The yoghurt tenderises the fish and the spices bring warmth and depth to create a dish that tastes far more elaborate than it really is. The same recipe is also delicious when made with prawns or chicken.
If you’re making tandoori chicken, I recommend marinating it in the yoghurt-spice mixture for at least 30 minutes, preferably overnight. This tenderises the meat and allows the flavours to penetrate more deeply.
I often make a quick dip to go with it, using fresh coriander, garlic and yoghurt. It’s another three ingredients recipe: bright, cooling and endlessly versatile. It enhances almost any dish, especially richer ones.
Sometimes, the best cooking isn’t about long ingredient lists or complicated techniques. It’s about knowing a few simple formulas and mastering a handful of dishes that are quick to make, easy to love on a weekday for the family, and never fail to impress when hosting a dinner party!
THE LAU’S ‘NUMBER RIBS’
This is a well-trusted family recipe from my brother-in-law Danny Lau, who lives in Canada with my sister Nancy and their children, Jessie and Sean. We all love this formula as it’s so simple yet guarantees flavourful and tender ribs every time! Sean said: “One kilogram of pork ribs is only enough for two people!” He loves these ribs. If you’re serving it with side dishes, it should serve three to four people.
Serves: 2 to 4
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 35 mins
Ingredients:
1kg pork ribs (See note 1)
2 tablespoons cornflour
Sauce:
1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine (See note 2)
2 tablespoons caster sugar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
4 tablespoons black vinegar
5 tablespoons water
Method:
1. Massage the ribs with cornflour and leave it for 10 minutes. Rinse thoroughly with cold water to remove surface impurities and any bones fragments. (See note 3.)
2. Cut the pork ribs in between the bones into single or double-bone pieces, as
preferred. (See note 4.) Place the ribs in a saucepan.
3. Mix all the sauce ingredients in a bowl, stir until the sugar has dissolved. Add the mixture to the saucepan, cover with a lid and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently over a low heat for 30 minutes.
4. Transfer the ribs to a serving dish.Method:
1. Massage the ribs with cornflour and leave it for 10 minutes. Rinse thoroughly with cold water to remove surface impurities and any bones fragments. (See note 3.)
2. Cut the pork ribs in between the bones into single or double-bone pieces, as
preferred. (See note 4.) Place the ribs in a saucepan.
3. Mix all the sauce ingredients in a bowl, stir until the sugar has dissolved. Add the mixture to the saucepan, cover with a lid and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently over a low heat for 30 minutes.
4. Transfer the ribs to a serving dish.
5. Turn up the heat to high, stirring frequently, and reduce the sauce until it’s thick and sticky and coats the spoon. Pour the sauce over the ribs.
6. Serve on its own with a chilled beer or with rice as part of a meal.
NOTES:
1. If you prefer a meatier, leaner cut, buy baby back ribs; if you prefer more fat and
a deeper pork flavour, buy spare ribs.
2. Shaoxing wine is available in most supermarkets and online. Or dry sherry is a good substitute.
3. The cornflour also draws out residual blood, eliminates any ‘gamey’ smell and acts as a gentle tenderiser.
4 Remove the thin membrane from the back of the ribs for a more tender bite and better flavour absorption. You can leave it on if you prefer – it helps the rack hold together, but will be slightly chewier.
Acknowledgement
I would like to express my special thanks to Danny and Nancy for their input, for cooking this recipe and for the step-by-step photography created exclusively for this column to share with you.
Private chef Lilian Hiw
Author of Lilian’s Kitchen Home Cooked Food
Visit lilianskitchen.co.uk
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