Use a regular rack or St. Louis-style rack of ribs for this Vietnamese kho recipe. Ask the butcher to saw the ribs into strips; that is not a job for the home cook. Serve with rice and a boiled vegetable or simple stir-fry. In Vietnamese, this is called sườn kho.
These are superlative, indoor, make-ahead ribs that yield stunning results, if I must say so myself. You can season them up to 3 days ahead, and if you’d like, you can cover and chill them after steaming and broil them a couple of days later. If you love to grill, glaze and char (after steaming) over medium-high direct heat instead of using the broiler. To simplify the spice rub, omit the mustard powder, MSG, and coriander and leave the other measurements the same.
For flavorful ribs from the slow cooker, we cut the St. Louis-style ribs in half crosswise, coated each half liberally in a spice rub (a mix of paprika, brown sugar, salt, pepper, onion powder, and granulated garlic), arranged them on end (exposed rib side down) around the rim of the cooking insert, and let them slowly cook until tender. To get that signature shiny, sticky finish, we made an easy barbecue sauce that we brushed onto to the ribs before broiling them.
Ingredients