Oola's Crispy Deep-Fried Ribs

When we ate at Oola, Mark shared some of his ribs with Kellie.  She  was so enamored that she asked me to duplicate the recipe when we returned home.  As it turned out both Food and Wine and Gourmet featured ribs on their cover that month.  But reading through the recipes, neither suggested the sweet, crispy ribs with meat so tender it was literally falling off the bone.

Kellie and I discussed the ribs ad nauseum:  she remembered the crispy texture and succulent meat.  I remembered the sweet barbecue sauce spiked with garlic and ginger in which they were drenched.  Figuring that the ribs couldn't be that hard to duplicate, I made an attempt using the cooking method described in Food and Wine recipe.  I made my own barbecue sauce with hoisin, brown sugar, soy sauce, ginger and garlic.  The ribs, when finished, were dry and uninteresting.

"The sauce needs to be sweeter," Hubby said wrinkling his nose.

My own nose was wrinkled and I agreed.  I thought about trying the recipe in Gourmet but Kellie, impatient to have her ribs, insisted, "Call the restaurant!  Stop screwing around!"

I'm not shy about calling restaurants and requesting recipes.  I find most chefs to be extraordinarly gracious about sharing their recipes.  Oola wasn't any different.  Only this time, it appeared that Chef Ola Fendert, had already been gracious in the pages of Food and Wine.

"That recipe was in Food and Wine a few months ago," the maitre d' told me when I called on Friday.

I was discouraged, thinking of my experience with the cover recipe.  I re-read the magazine and couldn't discern Chef Fendert's name anywhere; so I thought -- maybe it's a different recipe.  Trawling through the archives, I finally found the recipe -- listed under the name of Chef Fendert's restaurant, Oola.

This is a half day effort -- a weekend day where you aren't planning to head out.  The reason for the tender meat?  It's braised for two hours.  The crispiness we remembered?  It comes from deep frying the ribs just before service.  The sweetness of the sauce?  Brown sugar, soy sauce, orange juice, orange zest, ginger ale and ketchup.  It takes about three and a half hours to make, but it's so worth it.  First, you have to make the braising liquid.  Once out of the oven, the ribs need to come to room temperature, then cooled in the fridge for thirty minutes, during which time, you make the sauce.  Just before eating, the ribs are tossed in a flour and cornstarch coating, then deep fried quickly.  The final step is to dunk the hot ribs into the barbecue sauce. 

Final result?  The heavenly ribs we remembered from Oola.  Hubby devoured his plate quickly.  I was so greedy that I spooned too much sauce on my ribs -- less is definitely more with this sauce.  Just a little goes further, especially when it comes to biting into the crunchy exterior (such a pity frying's so bad for you; there are so few things that don't come out better when drenched in vat of frying oil).

I called Kellie.

"Where are you?"

"On my way back from the golf course."

"Stop by.  I have your ribs."

I think the sound on the other end of the phone was a sigh of elation.  I understood:  I'd just eaten some ribs.

Oola's Crispy Deep Fried Ribs

The recipe can be found here.

Comments

[S]

Oh my, Cathy, this sounds stupendously divine. I'm absolutely going to try this out when I get a free weekend. Thank you for pointing it out and pulling it off so successfully that you've inspired me to have a go at it.

[beastmomma]

Very impressed. When you are finishing off a culinary success, do you ever sigh to yourself, "I am good"?

[Cath Hong-Praslick]

S - I was really excited with how well this turned out. Oh one mistake I made on the first few ribs -- I didn't let the oil get hot enough. The oil really needs to be blazing hot to make the ribs crunchy. Enjoy!

Jaspreet -- uh, no. I offer up prayers thanking the gods that I didn't burn down my kitchen or poison the people eating my food. Usually after big dinners, I am in knots for a day after hoping no one got sick. It helps that the OCD requires nightly cleaning and scrubbing of everything in sight... :-)

[sam]

I cant even begin to tell you how in love with and how many times I have been to oola to get my fix of those ribs.

I was about to tell you where to find the recipe but reading on I see you found out for yourself. I haven't tried it yet. It's easier just to nip over to oola!

[cath]

Sam, I'm so jealous! If I could just nip in and eat at will, I'd forgo the pleasure of making these! :-)

[Geneve]

WOW. You've displayed these so beautifully in your photo - they look refined and sophisticated. I imagine they are a delicious and messy treat though!!!! I love the frying step to create a crispy texture - sounds fantastic!

[barbara]

The ribs sound fantastic. My ribs recipe is from a Hong Kong restaurant and the ribs are simmered first, cooled and then shallow fried in a sticky sauce.

[LPC]

Your description of the ribs just reminded me of the ribs I had when I was living in Hong Kong... ça donne envie. I'd love to learn to make some ribs... haven't had them in a while.

[cath]

Geneve, one extra step I added this past Saturday when I made them was to add panko to the flour mixture -- even crispier ribs with better texture! And these were definitely eaten with rolls of paper towels!

Barbara, can you send me your recipe? I'd love to try it!

LPC, these were really easy ribs to make --just time consuming. the good news is, you can make several racks of the stuff and keep it in the fridge for a week. Ribs for an entire week! :-)

[sam]

I just met the chef who invented the Oola ribs!!!! It was like meeting a pop-star. He is moved on to another kitchen where he is serving an updated rib. can't wait to try it out!

[Owen Jones]

This is the most ridiculous recipe website ever. Way to tell rib stories!!