Sweet and Sticky Cola Ribs

Coca cola ribs sliced up on a parchment paper.

5 from 22 votes

A twist from the classic ‘Chinese Coca Cola chicken wings’, made with baby back ribs. Sweet, sticky and slightly spicy – these Coca Cola ribs will really hit the spot.

Prep Time20

Cook Time3

Total Time3 20

Course: Main

Cuisine: American, Asian

Servings: Servings

Calories: 506kcal

Author: Joyce Lee

Ingredients

3 lbs baby back ribs (full rack)
oil (canola, peanut or vegetable)
All Purpose Coffee Dry Rub

Coca Cola Sauce

1 can coca cola (355ml)
2 slices ginger
2 cloves garlic
3 small shallots (or 1 small onion)
1 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine (or dry sherry, or white wine)
½ teaspoon fish sauce (or soy sauce)
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon mustard
2 tablespoons Sambel Olek (or any hot sauce of your choice)

Instructions

Preparing the Ribs

Use a knife and cut under the silver skin membrane about 1 inch in from the side to create a flap you can hold on to.
Use a piece of paper towel to hold onto the edge of the silver skin rip off the skin. The paper towel helps grip onto the skin better since it is very slippery.
Once the skin has been removed, use some oil and lightly coat the ribs.
Add the dry rub on liberally. (We used our All Purpose Coffee Dry Rub)
Once the rub is on – Foil it! We will essentially be steaming this in it’s own juices.

Bake the Ribs

Pre-heat the oven to 250F (121C). We want to bake this low and slow for soft and tender ribs.
Put the foiled ribs on a cookie tray and put it in the oven.
Set a timer for it for 2 hours and 45 minutes to 3 hours.
Depending how thick your ribs are, you may need to adjust the timing. You will know the ribs are done when they are soft and jiggle and start to fall apart.

Make the Coca Cola BBQ Sauce

In a food processor, blitz 2 cloves garlic, 3 small shallots (or 1 small onion) and 2 slices ginger. If you don't have a food processor, you can also grate it.
Set the stove to medium low heat
In a frying pan or wok, add in 2-3 tablespoon of oil and wait for it to get hot.
Add in the garlic/ginger/shallot mixture and brown it. Keep stirring, garlic burns quickly – especially near the edges of the pan.
When it has browned, add in 1 can coca cola, 1 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine, ½ teaspoon fish sauce, 2 tablespoons ketchup, 1 tablespoon mustard, and 2 tablespoons Sambel Olek and cook it for 15-20 minutes until it has reduced and has slightly thickened.
When the sauce has slightly thickened, turn off the heat and wait for the ribs to finish cooking in the oven.

Brushing the Ribs and Caramelizing the Sauce

Once the ribs have finished cooking, remove it from the foil. If there is any juices in the foil, save it and pour it into the sauce and mix well.
Brush the sauce on the front and back on the ribs.
Set the oven to broil and bake it for 5 minutes each side.
Slather on more sauce and repeat the process of putting it in the oven for 5 minutes to caramelize. (We did this about 2-3 times since we like our ribs sticky and messy, but be careful how often you broil it – you don’t want to overcook the ribs and dry them out.)
Enjoy!

Notes

Ketchup, coke and all the sugary condiments splatters a lot, so be careful when you're stirring the sauce.
Hot sauce is optional. We used Sabal Olek, but if you enjoy a spicier rib or have a preference of hot sauce – switch up the hot sauce.
You will get a more flavorful rib if you remove the silver skin membrane.
All Purpose Coffee Dry Rub - https://pupswithchopsticks.com/all-purpose-coffee-dry-rub/

Nutrition