Thai BBQ Ribs

Ronda L. Halpin

Thai food is a perfect choice to blend with summer favorites. Tender ribs with a Thai-inspired BBQ sauce will have you grabbing your Instant Pot and firing up the grill regularly. In fact, I like making a BIG batch of the sauce and rub and making ribs even on a weeknight in about a half hour! Summer eating is great!

One of the reasons I recommend doubling or tripling the sauce and rub is that they have a fair number of ingredients, but it takes the same amount of time to make a single batch as it does more and the rub can be stored along with your spices and the sauce keeps well in the refrigerator. Then, when you want to make ribs for dinner, you are talking about cutting the prep time to about a half hour. That's reasonable timing for weeknight cooking!

I highly recommend a fun Thai-inspired rainbow salad to have alongside with these ribs. Stay tuned - that' coming this way on Wednesday!

Thai BBQ Ribs

For the Sauce:
  • 1 tsp. sesame oil
  • ½ c. chopped onion
  • 1 oz. fresh ginger, minced
  • ½ c. orange juice
  • 1 tsp. garlic and red chile paste
  • 2 T. honey
  • 3 oz. tomato juice
  • 2 T. balsamic vinegar
  • ½ c. plum sauce
  • ¼ c. hoisin sauce
  • ¼ c. Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 T. Dijon mustard
  • ¼ c. soy sauce
  • 2 T. brown sugar
For the Dry Rub:
  • 2 T. paprika
  • 2 T. brown sugar
  • 2 tsp. garlic powder
  • 2 tsp. onion powder
  • 1 tsp. black pepper
  • 2 tsp. lemon pepper
  • 1 tsp. smoked paprika
  • 2 tsp. oregano
For the Ribs:
  • 1 rack baby back ribs (about 1 ½ - 2 pounds)
  • 1 c. broth or water
  • ½ tsp. liquid smoke - optional
  • Dry Rub - see above
  • Sauce - see above

To make the sauce, heat the sesame oil and cook the onion. Add the ginger and cook 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and cook over low heat 20 minutes. Strain and cook another 20 minutes until thick. Set aside.

To make the dry rub, combine the dry rub ingredients in a resealable jar. Seal the jar and shake vigorously to combine. Set aside.

To make the ribs, cut the slab into 2-3 pieces (enough so they fit into the Instant Pot) and coat with dry rub, massaging it into the meat. Place the trivet in the bottom of your Instant Pot. Add broth or water and liquid smoke if using. Set the ribs upright on the trivet (so they are not stacked on top of one another).

Close the lid and select manual pressure and set the timer for 23-27 minutes, depending on how meaty they are. Once done, allow the Instant Pot to naturally release for 5 minutes. Open the valve to release any remaining pressure. (You can make the sauce and dry rub while the ribs cook to save total prep time.)

Brush the ribs with the sauce and broil or grill until slightly charred. Serve warm.

  • Yields: 4 servings
  • Preparation Time: About an hour

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