Categories: Pork/ham, Appetizers, Chinese 
      Yield: 8 servings 
  
      2 lb Spareribs, in one piece                  Breastbone) 
           (have the butcher trim the          4 c  Plum sauce 
           Fat and discard the            
 
----------------------------------MARINADE---------------------------------- 
      4 tb Chicken broth                       1 ts Sugar 
    1/4 c  Soy sauce                           2 cl (medium) garlic, 
      3 tb Honey or corn syrup                      Chopped fine 
      3 tb Hoisin sauce                      1/2 ts Cinnamon 
      2 tb Wine vinegar                          pn (tiny) 5-spice powder 
      2 tb Dry sherry or                            (optional) 
           Shaoshing wine                 
 
-------------------------------DIPPING SAUCE------------------------------- 
           Plum sauce                               Scallion, chopped 
  
  Preheat the oven 10 375 degree F. Trim any excess fat from the ribs and 
  place them in a long shallow dish. In a mixing bowl, combine the marinade 
  ingredients; if you are using 5-spice powder, add it to the mixture by 
  putting it through a tea strainer so it spreads out over the mixture. Mix 
  well, and pour over the ribs and leave for 3 hours at room temperature or 
  about 6 hours in the refrigerator.  Baste the ribs every hours or so, 
  turning them over. TO ROAST THE RIBS: Remove the ribs from the marinade. 
  Add the 1/4 cup plum sauce to the marinade; reserve it for basting. Hook 
  metal drapery hooks through both ends of each rack of ribs, at the top, and 
  hang each one as if you were hanging a hammock, suspended from the bars of 
  one of the oven racks.  Set the oven rack in the highest position in the 
  oven. On the floor of the oven or on another oven rack set at the lowest 
  position in the oven, place a baking pan half filled with water, to collect 
  drippings and prevent smoking. You may want to line the baking pan with 
  aluminum foil before putting the water in, to make it easier to clean. 
  Roast the spareribs for 45 minutes in the preheated oven.  Then baste them 
  with the reserved basting sauce, using a small pastery brush and carefully 
  pulling out the oven rack to facilitate the basting process. Turn the oven 
  up to 450 degrees F and roast for another 15 minutes.  By this time the 
  spareribs should be a rich golden brown with crisp edges.  Baste again, 
  then take them out of the oven.  Place the ribs on a cutting board and 
  remove the drapery hooks.  Separate the individual ribs with a cleaver or 
  sharp knife.  Serve at room temperature, with dipping sauce.  Makes 6 to 8 
  appetizer servings. NOTE: You will need about 12 drapery hooks. Recipe: 
  "Chinese Appetizers" by Verdi 
         Published by Irene Chalmers Cookbooks, 1981