Baby back ribs are marinated in soy sauce, gin, sugar and ginger, browned then braised in the marinade. Mushrooms are added and the sauce is thickened with starch.
When Kenny Rogers Roasters came to the Philippines, baby back ribs became an instant hit. I don’t know why it should be anything new. I had been eating barbecued pork ribs since I was a kid.
Whether it was a fashion thing or not, all of a sudden, people were saying baby back ribs in lieu of the usual spare ribs and many pork vendors tried to pass off just about every kind of pork ribs as baby backs. They aren’t the same and it isn’t just a difference in terms — baby back ribs and spare ribs come from different parts of the pig. Amazing Ribs has an illustration.
Anyway, I was able to get real baby back ribs from Unimart last week. My intention was to cook the baby back ribs using the traditional teriyaki marinade then I discovered that I had neither mirin nor sake in the kitchen.
The first thing I thought of substituting was red wine but I wasn’t sure if red wine would go well with ginger. I decided that gin would have to do. Nothing that I’ve cooked with gin had turned out disastrously so I figured it was my best bet. I wasn’t mistaken. No leftovers. Not even the sauce.
Baby back ribs and mushrooms a la teriyaki
Print PinIngredients
- 1 to 1 and 1/2 kilograms baby back ribs
- 1/2 cup light soy sauce
- 1/4 cup gin
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
- 10 to 12 button mushrooms
- 1 teaspoon tapioca starch or corn starch dispersed in 2 tablespoons of water
- 3 to 4 tablespoons vegetable cooking oil
- 1 tablespoo finely sliced onion leaves
Instructions
- Cut the baby back ribs along the meat part between the bones.
- In a bowl, mix together the gin, soy sauce, sugar and grated ginger. Add the cut ribs, mixing and working the marinade into the meat with your hands. Cover and let sit in the fridge for a couple of hours or overnight.
- Heat the cooking oil in a large shallow pan (I used a wok). Strain the baby back ribs; reserve the marinade.
- Fry the baby back ribs in the hot oil just until a crust starts to form on the surface. The more accurate term would be until lightly browned but that’s kinda hard to discern considering that the ribs had been marinating in a very dark mixture for hours.
- Pour in the marinade, add a cup of water, set the heat to the lowest setting, cover the pan and simmer the ribs for an hour.
- Meanwhile, prepare the mushrooms. If they are rather large, cut into halves or quarters.
- When the pork is tender, add the mushrooms. Stir a couple of times and continue simmering for another five minutes.
- Pour in the starch solution, turn up the heat and cook, stirring, until the sauce is thick and clear. Transfer the cooked baby back ribs, mushrooms and sauce to a serving platter and garnish with sliced onion leaves before serving.
Read 
Smoked duck from Shuin
Really ingenious Connie! I’ve used wine and beer in cooking, but never gin and i don’t think i would’ve ever considered gin as a replacement for mirin.
Btw, i missed your segment last night! I guess you were featured first. When i switched channels, they were already featuring several variations of goat!
I don’t think it was aired. I got a text message in the afternoon. Editing problems. Said if not last night then another Saturday night. I got pissed and didn’t bother to confirm whether it was aired as scheduled.
Alam ko na kung bakit karamihan sa mga readers dito naghihingi ng recipe po. Siguro yun recipe at guidelines ninyo Ingles ang nakasulat. Ironically, dapat may Pilipino version yun recipes at guidelines… Parang related yun Ingles sa inyong title, Pinoy Cook. Itagalog na lang title, Lutong Pinoy.
Sa post ko po kanina, limutan ko lang po, some of them, didn’t understand English, dahil Pinoy sila. Sana may Filipino version para yun di maintindihan sa Ingles, di na magtatanong kung saan ang link ng recipe.
Laurent, re some of them, didn’t understand English, dahil Pinoy sila.
hindi nila naintindihan yung Ingles pero yung request nila sinulat in English? Pahinog sila.
hi connie! isa ako sa iyong mga silent readers. Nakipag-unahan pa naman ako sa mga bata sa tv nung saturday just to watch you and see you na rin pero wala ka naman. Sana this coming Saturday eh ma-air na yung part mo dun sa show ni Jessica.
cherry, you may read the update (their excuses). Di bale, nandun na sa noche buena blog yung recipes. :)
hi connie. i’m one of your silent readers. i love your recipes. thanks for giving us wonderful ideas. i’d like to ask what brand of soy sauce do you use for this recipe? what do you mean by light soy sauce? do you use local brands or imported ones? thanks for the help.
It was good you went with gin. Mirin and sake are both white wines — rice wines, IIRC, and gin is closer to it than red wine is.
Kikkoman, Ces. :)
Jon, actually, I was replicating the “sweetness” of the mirin. :razz:
Ur great Connie! Keep it up! Marami nkong na try n recipe mo at sucessful talaga!
Well…I dont think na kailangan pa ng tagalog version, kc naman bihira na pinoy na marunong mag surf s net ng hindi nakakaintindi ng English.
ms. connie, what brand of gin did you use for this recipe? anyway, i tried the sweet and sour fish recipe using pineapple juice and it tasted really good! thanks! :)
Salamat, Len. :)
Ayen, there was leftover Ginebra San Miguel way back in the kitchen cabinet.
Ginebra San Miguel? What kind? Bilog? Blue? Premium? I have a bottle of Premium here. Mababawasan ata yung pang new year! hehe
Hi Connie! I dont have Pinoy channel anymore & I am hoping that your segment will be in youtube. Will surely look for it. I’m planning my noche buena and your website is a big help. Thanks , Merry Christmas & May we all have a peaceful & prosperous 2008!
p.s. I am looking forward in buying your cookbook. I hope you dont mind international shipping.
wow! ribs na mushroom pa! mananakit na naman mga buto ko.. abwehehehe…
Yung bilog lang, peterb. Pero baka mas masarap kung premium hehehehe
Janete, actually, I want it published abroad. It’s finally finished and am just looking for the best deal. :grin:
beng, hehehe isang rib at konting mushrooms can’t be that bad hehehe
huwattttt????? hindi natuloy nung Sat? ang sama pa naman ng loob ko hindi ako naka panood kasi talagang antokkk na antokkk na ako galing pa sa trabaho… sana this Sat matuloy na.
I like this recipe, parang yung sa Braised Pork na recipe mo, except may gin and sake this time… I’ll try this..
Read my column today, Brenda, the whole story is there. Life nga naman, minsan, gusto mong mag-amuck.
wow! book! pwede ba advance reservation of a copy? hehe… malamang bestseller yan.. i would highly recommend it to my colleagues who love filipino dishes..
at least in that way, di ako mahihirapan magsabi what ingredients they need.. hehe.. bahala sila ngayon maghanap.. lol..
by the way.. will the first batch of books to be on sale e autographed? teehee… fan niyo po ako…
gig, i don’t know what the arrangements will be. kasi, ang lop-sided naman ng deals with local publishers.
uy teka, nasa market naba yung cookbook mo? gusto ko kasi mga recipes mo e. at marami na kong natry sa kanila. it beats the hassle of thinking kung ano na naman iluluto ko. hahaha… isa ko sa mga cook na pa cham e… pachamba chamba. ang problema nga lang pg uulitin ko d ko na alam. hehehe…
Since I have discovered Mirin (used it in sushi), I loved it and has been using it in anything that needs the right acidity of a vinegar. Sawsawan sa tokwa’t baboy, sprinkle on goto, and on a teriyaki style of pag-gisa. Its really great, and yeah, add some mushroom, oh wow!
Beng, not yet.
Ebba, I love mirin too. Naku, without mirin, tempura dipping sauce tastes flat.
hi connie, i’ve been checking your site several times already. Really love your recipes. Questrion lng, what is light soy sauce? give me naman a specific brand. thanks!
Kikkoman. :)
Hi Connie,
I’m glad you visited Mr MM’s web…i was able to go to your website. You also have very great ideas and recipes.
Best Wishes to You and Your Family! God Bless!
hi connie! chanced upon your site while searching for a malunggay recipe. the baby back ribs recipe looks really interesting. just a clarification, you mentioned that you didn’t have sake in your kitchen but your recipe includes 1/4 c. of sake, although you didn’t include it in the procedure. so was the sake just a typo? thanks!
Hi Jenny. I substituted gin (second paragraph). Sake was in the original recipe though.
hi connie! good morning. what do you mean 1/3 sugar is it a cup or kg? just confused. Thanks so much.
Yes, AJ, it is 1/3 cup. Sorry for the typo. It’s been corrected.
why do need to marinate the ribs since you would be poaching it in a sauce, and putting the sauce in the same pan to cook it..
well i also marinate the meat but not overnight. an hour will do just fine.. and instead of water which is tasteless, why not add beef broth instead..
Because poaching will not allow the meat to absorb flavors better than marinating.
Re “i also marinate the meat but not overnight. an hour will do just fine”
Oh, you’re missing a lot. Good cooking is not about speed. The beef broth suggestion is good in many cases although it might be an overkill in this case since the marinade is already the base of the sauce. Good flavor is about blending, not having too much of everything. However, it might be good if you follow your own suggestion considering that without the overnight marinating, your beef and your marinade will be less than delicious than mine so you need all the help you can get.
Hello Connie, what can I substitute for the gin? Can I use the red or white cooking wine or the Marsala cooking wine..?
Hi Connie
I already tried this recipe, and used the Marsala cooking wine. It’s really good. :)
I added more sugar, siguro mga 1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar and nilagay ko.
Thank you for sharing your recipes!
miss connie wala bang ibang substitute sa gin?kasi di ko alam kung saan bibili ng gin dito sa abu dhabi.at saka regulated dito alcohol e.ask ko lang po yun po ba rice wine at rice vinegar mag kaiba?tnx po
Try vodka.
Rice wine and rice vinegar are totally different.
ms. connie, is your cook book already available here at the philippine bookstore? i hope to grab one.
Online only.
frau connie, what can i substitute with wine and co. my hubby is not allowed to take not even a drop of alcohol in anything he eats or drinks. thanks.
The alcohol evaporates during cooking…
This recipe looks good. We’re having a potluck at my sister’s house for the bible study and I was looking for something new and easy. I found this. I’m cooking it tomorrow and I’ll let you know how it turns out. I’ve actually tried a lot of recipes you have here. From cookies, dessert, pancit molo, etc. This is my go-to for Filipino or Asian cuisine because all my dishes usually turn out good!
I’m a newlywed so I’ve been excited to cook different dishes for my husband. Keep it coming!
Hi Connie, How about the Sake Hindi ko nabasa kung kela at paano isinangkap. Thanks.
Sorry, I used to use gin instead of sake and forgot to edit. I have corrected the recipe. :)