Sweet & Spicy Asian Inspired Baby Back Ribs

Sweet & Spicy Asian Inspired Baby Back Ribs

Lee - Smoke & Sear
Servings: 2 Total Time: 5 hrs Difficulty: Intermediate Family Friendly Family Friendly Hot 'n Spicy Hot 'n Spicy
Jump To Recipe Print Recipe
1 Add to Favorites
Asian-Style Smoked Baby Back Ribs

Pork ribs are a barbecue classic, but these Sweet & Spicy Asian Inspired Baby Back Ribs take things to a whole new level. Combining the tenderness of slow-cooked ribs with the bold flavors of Asian spices and a touch of sweetness, this recipe is sure to impress. Whether you’re a fan of the 3-2-1 method or prefer your ribs with a bit more bite, this guide will help you achieve rib perfection.

Sweet & Spicy Asian Inspired Baby Back Ribs

Pork
Print Recipe
Pin Recipe
1 Add to Favorites
Prep Time 1 hr Cook Time 4 hrs Total Time 5 hrs
Difficulty: Intermediate Cooking Temp: 120  C Servings: 2 Estimated Cost: £ 10 Calories: Approximately 650 per serving Best Season: Suitable throughout the year
Author: Lee - Smoke & Sear Cooking Method: , Cuisine: Courses: Recipe Keys: Family Friendly Family Friendly Hot 'n Spicy Hot 'n Spicy

For the Ribs

For the Rub

For the Wrap

For the Korean BBQ Sauce

For the Asian Coleslaw

For the Sesame Dressing

Instructions

  1. Prepare the Ribs:

    Buy high-quality baby back ribs from a reliable butcher. Remove the membrane from the back of the ribs by sliding a butter knife under it, lifting it up, and pulling it off in one motion using a piece of kitchen paper.

  2. Applying the Rub

    • Combine light brown sugar, sea salt, ground black pepper, Chinese five spice powder, and onion powder in a bowl.
    • Apply the rub evenly over the ribs. Let them sit for 1-2 hours if possible to absorb the flavours.

  3. Smoking the Ribs

    • Preheat your smoker to 121°C (250°F) and use cherry wood for the smoke.
    • Smoke the ribs for 2.5 hours.

  4. Wrapping the Ribs:

    • After 2.5 hours, wrap the ribs tightly in foil with a sprinkle of light brown sugar, a few pats of butter, and a drizzle of hot honey.
    • Return the wrapped ribs to the smoker for 1 hour.

  5. Make the Korean BBQ Sauce:

    • In a saucepan, combine water, Sprite, granulated sugar, dark brown sugar, and soy sauce. Bring to a boil and stir until the sugars dissolve.
    • Remove from heat and whisk in gochujang, dark sesame oil, and rice vinegar.

  6. Glazing the Ribs:

    • Unwrap the ribs and brush them generously with the Korean BBQ sauce.
    • Return to the smoker for another 30 minutes to set the glaze, reapplying the sauce after 15 minutes if desired.

  7. Making the Coleslaw

    • Combine green and purple cabbage, carrot, coriander, and spring onion in a bowl.
    • For the dressing, whisk together apple cider vinegar, sugar, roasted sesame oil, toasted white sesame seeds, flaked salt, and freshly ground black pepper until the sugar dissolves. Toss the dressing with the coleslaw.

Equipment

Affiliate Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links. If you buy a product using these links, we get a commission at no extra cost to you. Your support helps keep the BBQ magic alive, and we thank you in advance!

Note

  • For extra heat, you can add a bit more gochujang to the sauce.
  • These ribs can be kept warm in an oven until ready to serve.
Keywords: baby back ribs, Asian-inspired ribs, smoked ribs, Korean BBQ sauce, BBQ ribs, sweet and spicy ribs
Love this recipe? Spread the word!
Tag #SmokeSearRecipes if you made this recipe. Follow @smoke.sear on Instagram for more BBQ tips and recipes.

Pin this recipe to share the BBQ love with your friends and followers.

pinit
Lee Bishop - Smoke & Sear

smoke.sear

1,066 24,192

🔥 GIVEAWAY TIME 🔥

I’ve teamed up with @meatupfestival to give away 2 adult full weekend tickets to Meat Up Festival 2026, worth £139.

📍 Ashley Showground, Cheshire
📅 1–2 August 2026
🎟️ Prize: 2 adult weekend tickets

I’ll be there myself with the FOURGE team, cooking up a storm and getting properly stuck into the fire, smoke and festival chaos.

This is the North’s only Field-to-Flame Festival — live fire cooking, butchery, farming, music, family zones, country pursuits, and enough BBQ energy to make your neighbours nervous.

To enter:

🔥 Follow @smoke.sear
🔥 Follow @fourge.bbq
🔥 Follow @meatupfestival
🔥 Like this post
🔥 Tag the person you’d love to bring for the weekend
🔥 Share this post

Enter as many times as you like — just tag that person you’d love to bring for the weekend. One tag per comment keeps it tidy, you absolute legends.

Winner picked at random on Friday 12th June.

Please watch out for fake accounts. We’ll never ask for bank details, card details, payment, or your secret wing sauce password.

This giveaway isn’t sponsored, endorsed or affiliated with Instagram/Facebook. The giveaway is also running on Facebook, but there are only 2 tickets up for grabs in total.

74 124
Open
🔥 GIVEAWAY TIME 🔥 I’ve teamed up with @meatupfestival to give away 2 adult full weekend tickets to Meat Up Festival 2026, worth £139. 📍 Ashley Showground, Cheshire 📅 1–2 August 2026 🎟️ Prize: 2 adult weekend tickets I’ll be there myself with the FOURGE team, cooking up a storm and getting properly stuck into the fire, smoke and festival chaos. This is the North’s only Field-to-Flame Festival — live fire cooking, butchery, farming, music, family zones, country pursuits, and enough BBQ energy to make your neighbours nervous. To enter: 🔥 Follow @smoke.sear 🔥 Follow @fourge.bbq 🔥 Follow @meatupfestival 🔥 Like this post 🔥 Tag the person you’d love to bring for the weekend 🔥 Share this post Enter as many times as you like — just tag that person you’d love to bring for the weekend. One tag per comment keeps it tidy, you absolute legends. Winner picked at random on Friday 12th June. Please watch out for fake accounts. We’ll never ask for bank details, card details, payment, or your secret wing sauce password. This giveaway isn’t sponsored, endorsed or affiliated with Instagram/Facebook. The giveaway is also running on Facebook, but there are only 2 tickets up for grabs in total.

24,000+ on Instagram.
11,000+ on Facebook.
66,000 website users this year.
130,000 page views.

And somehow, the Ninja Woodfire UK Facebook group has now passed 27,000 members, while the UK BBQ Community on WhatsApp has gone past 450 members.

That’s honestly mad.

Smoke & Sear has always just been me cooking outside, filming what I’m doing, sharing the wins, the mistakes, the gear, the fire, the smoke and all the no-bollocks bits in between.

But this year feels like things are starting to properly move.

The big goals are simple.

Keep pushing @fourge.bbq with three good mates and see how far we can take a proper UK BBQ business built around flavour, fire and graft.

Keep supporting the UK BBQ community, helping it grow, connecting more people, and doing what I can to push it forward.

And hopefully find a couple of brands to work with properly long-term. Real content, proper use, honest feedback, recipes, and maybe even stepping into demos a bit more.

To everyone who follows, comments, shares, reads the website, joins the groups, tries a recipe, buys from FOURGE, or just sticks around for the madness — genuinely, thank you.

It’s all a bit ridiculous.

But we’re only getting started 🔥

#SmokeAndSear #FOURGE #UKBBQ #BBQCommunity #OutdoorCooking

97 13
Open
24,000+ on Instagram. 11,000+ on Facebook. 66,000 website users this year. 130,000 page views. And somehow, the Ninja Woodfire UK Facebook group has now passed 27,000 members, while the UK BBQ Community on WhatsApp has gone past 450 members. That’s honestly mad. Smoke & Sear has always just been me cooking outside, filming what I’m doing, sharing the wins, the mistakes, the gear, the fire, the smoke and all the no-bollocks bits in between. But this year feels like things are starting to properly move. The big goals are simple. Keep pushing @fourge.bbq with three good mates and see how far we can take a proper UK BBQ business built around flavour, fire and graft. Keep supporting the UK BBQ community, helping it grow, connecting more people, and doing what I can to push it forward. And hopefully find a couple of brands to work with properly long-term. Real content, proper use, honest feedback, recipes, and maybe even stepping into demos a bit more. To everyone who follows, comments, shares, reads the website, joins the groups, tries a recipe, buys from FOURGE, or just sticks around for the madness — genuinely, thank you. It’s all a bit ridiculous. But we’re only getting started 🔥 #SmokeAndSear #FOURGE #UKBBQ #BBQCommunity #OutdoorCooking

Bit of a special one today ❤️🔥

Olivia and Oakley wanted to take over the Kamado Joe and make their own cooking video . . . so we made smoked & tallow-confit beef cheeks together.

And honestly, this is what it’s all about for me.

Getting kids outside. Around fire. Around food. Learning patience, confidence and where proper food actually comes from.

There is absolutely NO chance I’d have eaten beef cheeks at their age 😅

But when kids get involved in cooking outdoors, they become curious. They want to try things. Learn things. Experience things.

And somewhere between the smoke, the laughs and the chaos . . . core memories get made ❤️

94 16
Open
Bit of a special one today ❤️🔥 Olivia and Oakley wanted to take over the Kamado Joe and make their own cooking video . . . so we made smoked & tallow-confit beef cheeks together. And honestly, this is what it’s all about for me. Getting kids outside. Around fire. Around food. Learning patience, confidence and where proper food actually comes from. There is absolutely NO chance I’d have eaten beef cheeks at their age 😅 But when kids get involved in cooking outdoors, they become curious. They want to try things. Learn things. Experience things. And somewhere between the smoke, the laughs and the chaos . . . core memories get made ❤️

First proper hike completed ✅

Big shoutout to @lads_project25 for a cracking day out in the Peak District.

This was my first real hike and my first ever visit to the Peak District — and what a place to start.

📍 Higger Tor, Burbage Edge & Padley Gorge Circular
🥾 7.2 miles
⛰️ 1,378ft elevation gain
⏱️ 4 hours 6 minutes
🐾 One very happy, very tired Labrador

12 lads turned up, most of us strangers at the start, but it didn’t feel like that for long. Non-stop chats, proper laughs, some deep conversations, a bit of scrambling, a few boggy moments, and views that made every climb worth it.

Groups like Lads Project matter.

No judgement. No pressure. Just good lads getting outside, keeping active, sharing stories, having a laugh, and supporting each other in a way that feels natural.

If you’re a bloke who’s been thinking about doing something like this, reach out to @lads_project25 and get involved.

Fresh air, good people, and a reminder that sometimes the best conversations happen while walking side by side.

I’ll definitely be joining them again soon.

#LadsProject #PeakDistrict #MensMentalHealth #HikingUK #MensCommunity

60 9
Open
First proper hike completed ✅ Big shoutout to @lads_project25 for a cracking day out in the Peak District. This was my first real hike and my first ever visit to the Peak District — and what a place to start. 📍 Higger Tor, Burbage Edge & Padley Gorge Circular 🥾 7.2 miles ⛰️ 1,378ft elevation gain ⏱️ 4 hours 6 minutes 🐾 One very happy, very tired Labrador 12 lads turned up, most of us strangers at the start, but it didn’t feel like that for long. Non-stop chats, proper laughs, some deep conversations, a bit of scrambling, a few boggy moments, and views that made every climb worth it. Groups like Lads Project matter. No judgement. No pressure. Just good lads getting outside, keeping active, sharing stories, having a laugh, and supporting each other in a way that feels natural. If you’re a bloke who’s been thinking about doing something like this, reach out to @lads_project25 and get involved. Fresh air, good people, and a reminder that sometimes the best conversations happen while walking side by side. I’ll definitely be joining them again soon. #LadsProject #PeakDistrict #MensMentalHealth #HikingUK #MensCommunity

TEMPER Smoked Pulled Lamb Flatbreads 🔥

2.6kg bone-in lamb shoulder from @thecateringbutcher , hit with TEMPER from @fourge.bbq , smoked low and slow, then pulled into fresh flatbreads with garlic yoghurt, pickled onions, herbs and charred lemon.

Bit more of an involved cook this one, but absolutely worth it.

I also used the @typhur_uk Sync Gold Dual for temps throughout the cook and, to be fair, the Sub-1G connection was solid. No problem getting through the lamb, wrapped in foil, inside the Kamado Joe, through a few walls, while I cracked on writing the full recipe for the website like the BBQ geek I apparently am.

Full recipe is here:

https://www.smokeandsear.world/BBQ-recipes/temper-smoked-pulled-lamb-flatbreads/

Enjoy!

104 25
Open
TEMPER Smoked Pulled Lamb Flatbreads 🔥 2.6kg bone-in lamb shoulder from @thecateringbutcher , hit with TEMPER from @fourge.bbq , smoked low and slow, then pulled into fresh flatbreads with garlic yoghurt, pickled onions, herbs and charred lemon. Bit more of an involved cook this one, but absolutely worth it. I also used the @typhur_uk Sync Gold Dual for temps throughout the cook and, to be fair, the Sub-1G connection was solid. No problem getting through the lamb, wrapped in foil, inside the Kamado Joe, through a few walls, while I cracked on writing the full recipe for the website like the BBQ geek I apparently am. Full recipe is here: https://www.smokeandsear.world/BBQ-recipes/temper-smoked-pulled-lamb-flatbreads/ Enjoy!