Preheat the oven to 375°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°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.
