Thai-style spare ribs with lightly salted cucumbers

Ingredients:

• 900 g of boneless spare ribs
• 8 skinless chicken drumsticks
• 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems
• 1/2 tbsp. light brown sugar (compacted)
• 1/4 cup honey
• About 1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
• About 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 4 cloves of garlic without skin
• 2 serrano chili peppers, seeded and chopped
• 1 sliced ​​Fresno chili pepper
• 1 piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated, 5 cm long.
• 1 lemongrass stalk (cut off the white part)
• Sliced ​​lime

Sweet and sour chili sauce:

• 1/3 cup superfine sugar
• 1 piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced ​​2.5cm long.
• Approximately 3 tbsp. l. rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
• 2 tablespoons Sriracha sauce
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 finely chopped Fresno chili pepper
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1/2 cup finely chopped, dry-roasted cashews or peanuts
• 1 bunch green onion tops, thinly sliced ​​(reserve white parts for Thai Cucumbers, see recipe below)
• Jasmine rice for serving

Thai-style cucumbers

• 1 grated carrot
• 1 seedless cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp. l. rice vinegar
• 2 tsp. ultrafine sugar
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 bunch finely chopped green onions (white parts)
• 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
• 1 Fresno chili pepper, seeded and finely chopped

Preparation:

1. For ribs and legs: In a blender or food processor, combine the cilantro, brown sugar, honey, soy sauce, fish sauce, chili pepper, ginger, and white part of the lemongrass. Puree until almost smooth and a thick sauce forms.
   
   Place the pork ribs and chicken drumsticks in a large zip-top plastic bag or shallow plastic container and coat the meat generously with the marinade. Add the lime slices and lemongrass tops to the bag and refrigerate for 1-4 hours.
2. For the sweet and sour sauce: In a small saucepan, combine 1/2 cup water, sugar, and ginger. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar, then simmer for a couple of minutes to infuse the syrup with the ginger flavor. Pour the syrup into a small bowl and let cool. Remove the ginger, then stir in the vinegar, cilantro, mint, Sriracha, fish sauce, chili pepper, and lime juice.
3. Preheat oven to 180°C.
   
   Arrange the ribs in an even layer in the baking dish and add the marinade and lime wedges. Cover the dish tightly with foil and bake for 1 hour. Remove the dish from the oven and add the drumsticks. Cover and bake for another 30 minutes.
   
   Increase the oven temperature to 220°C (425°F). Remove the foil and bake until the ribs and drumsticks are well browned, 20 to 25 minutes.
4. Transfer to a serving platter and drizzle with half the sweet and sour sauce. Sprinkle with nuts and green onions. Serve with Thai-style rice and cucumbers. Set the remaining sweet and sour sauce aside.
   
   Thai Cucumbers: In a bowl, combine vinegar, sugar, sea salt, and lime juice and whisk until the sugar and salt dissolve. Add carrots, cucumbers, and green onions and stir. Transfer the mixture to a plastic food container and refrigerate until serving. Just before serving, add mint and chili pepper and stir.