Fatty Cue Style Ribs

After an amazing dinner at the new Fatty Cue in the West Village, I couldn't wait to have another savory and sweet rib. I tweeted about it the next day asking for a recipe and was directed here. I'd already bought some baby back ribs from Faicco's that morning, so I decided to adapt the recipe to baby backs. I had a trip to Kalustyan's for the more exotic ingredients. They were a big hit! So juicy and tender, and the meat really shines through, so make sure to get some meaty ribs. (If you live in Manhattan, it's worth a trip to Faicco's - their baby back ribs are the meatiest and juiciest I've ever had.) Don't be scared of all the fish sauce - you really don't notice it in the final product. It just gives the ribs a great umami flavor.

Serves 6-8
Ingredients:
2 racks of baby back ribs
2 cups fish sauce
6 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1 medium shallot, peeled and sliced
1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup sugar

Pork Buns

I love pork buns. I've had them in Chinatown, at Momofuku, at Fatty Crab... I've even made them myself. I think they are absolutely delicious. Perfectly savory pork belly oozing with umami wrapped in a sweet and fluffy steamed bun. I went down to Baohaus last week to try their pork buns. They were cheap and pretty tasty. They dipped them in brown sugar before serving them, and had really tasty little accouterments inside. They didn't have a dipping sauce, which was a draw back. They did have great tea and boiled peanuts, and really tasty fried bread of some sort for dessert. Momofuku's pork buns are legendary, and definitely worth a visit to the noodle bar for a taste. The pork buns that reign supreme, in my humble opinion, are those at Fatty Crab. They serve the buns with a spicy cilantro salad that you stuff inside. Then the dipping sauce is hoisin with a bullseye of Sriracha in the middle. They have the sweet and savory flavor of the others, plus the fresh perk of cilantro and a great heat from the sauce and the Sriracha. Hit all three for a pork bun trip around downtown.