Banana Ketchup Ribs are what to cook this Memorial Day!

Banana Ketchup Ribs are what their creator, Nicole Ponseca, calls ‘an homage to American Southern-style, slow-cooked ribs’ revved up with Filipino flavors. You don’t even have to have an outdoor grill to enjoy them. The ribs are rubbed in a spice mix and oven-baked till they fall off the bone. A glaze made of Banana Ketchup, a Filipino condiment with a glorious back story, is slathered on. The ribs go under the broiler for just minutes. Because you may have to order Banana Ketchup online, I wanted you to have this recipe early in the week to do so. The link follows. Here’s the story of this great dish. But first, come to a party.
Two Junes ago, Andrew and I went to a wonderful party.

It was Silversea’s celebration of S.A.L.T., Silversea’s extraordinary new Culinary program. S.A.L.T. is the acronym for Sea And Land Taste. The party was a reunion with most of the press who were on board ship to test out the program in March 2019. It was held at the home of Evyn Block and Adam Sachs. Adam is the inventor of S.A.L.T. He and Evyn opened their gorgeous home in Clinton Hill to literally dozens of us who were involved in the ‘test run’ in the Philippines and any number of New York Food Royalty. I came home from that trip and wrote about it for three separate publications and for Silversea’s own Blog. The link to the Silversea article comes after this wonderful recipe.
The Star Chef at the event was the marvelous Nicole Ponseca.
I wrote all about Nicole in a previous post. A San Diego native, she arrived in New York to pursue an Advertising Career and ended up opening two of the city’s best-known Filipino restaurants. With her then-partner Miguel Trinidad, she co-authored “I am Filipino and this is how we cook”(Artisan, A Division of Workman Publishing Company 2019). In the book, you’ll find dozens of great Filipino recipes. There she was in Evyn and Adam’s glorious kitchen while her crew provided masses of food to the masses of food writers in attendance. Nicole even brought along Marlo Gamora to bartend. Marlo is the mix master for the drinks at Nicole’s Jeepney Gastropub in New York. He told me that Nicole and he are already collaborating on her second book, the title yet to be revealed.
Why Banana Ketchup is a favorite Filipino condiment.
Or, as the label says “Banana Sauce”. The US presence in the Philippines began with the end of the Spanish American War in 1898. The US was literally given the Archipelago in exchange for the now paltry sum of $30 million dollars. With the Yanks’ arrival came all sorts of US foodstuffs—the most famous being Spam and Ketchup. Come World War II, tomatoes were in short supply. So Maria Orosa e Ylagan, the daughter of a prominent Filipino family, stepped in to help. She was a food genius and a trained pharmaceutical chemist. While there was a tomato shortage, there was a surplus of bananas.
Maria invented a condiment made from mashed bananas, sugar, vinegar, and
spices.
Its color was brownish-yellow but it was dyed red to simulate tomato ketchup. I find it absolutely delicious. It’s sweeter than tomato ketchup but just as piccant. Tragically, its inventor Maria died a very young death at the age of 51 of shrapnel injuries during a battle in Manila in 1945. But Banana ketchup is her lasting legacy. You can find it at Asian markets or order it online at https://www.filstop.com/filipino-groceries/
Pork Ribs are rubbed in a garlic, ginger, paprika spice mix, cooked in the oven and then glazed with banana ketchup under the broiler. Banana Ketchup Ribs
Ingredients
Directions
Here’s Nicole’s recipe for ChoriBurgers which are just exceptional…
Back to the Philippines for New York’s Best Burger! The Chori Burger
And here is the link to the story I wrote for Silversea’s Discover…
Food Culture of the Philippines: What to Know About Traditional Filipino Cuisine
These are great.
So glad you liked them. Thanks so much for taking the time to write. Monte
nicole ponesca did not create this dish. This variation of grilled pork ribs has been done by Filipino cooks long before. Ponesca popularized it through her book.
Hello Aldrich, Of course you are quite right. Nicole Ponseca did not invent this recipe. What she did was cook it. My mistake not hers. Thanks for pointing out the error of my ways. Monte