Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Coat the bottom of a large frying pan with olive oil and place over medium high heat. Sear the ribs, in batches, for 2 or 3 minutes on each side. Season with just a touch of salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the browned ribs to a large baking or roasting pan. Cover the pan with foil and cook for 2 hours.

Towards the end of the cooking time prepare the sauce. In a mixing bowl combine hoisin sauce, ketchup, brown sugar, minced garlic, and crushed red pepper. Stir to combine.

Remove pan from oven. Remove foil and move cooked ribs to the foil and pour off all the grease and cooking liquid from the pan. Return the ribs to the pan, spoon the sauce evenly over the ribs, replace the foil, and return pan to the oven for 1 hour.

Snap ends off asparagus and discard. Cut asparagus spears into 1" to 2" pieces. Cut bell peppers into strips about the same size as your asparagus pieces. About 10 minutes before end of cooking time, place a large saute pan over medium heat and add just enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. When oil is nice and hot, add the asparagus and bell peppers. Cook and stir for about 5 to 7 minutes, or until asparagus and bell pepper are just fork tender. Remove pan from heat.

At the end of the cooking time remove ribs from oven. Pour vegetables over and serve with prepared rice.