Shanghai sweet and sour spareribs

Shanghai sweet and sour ribs in a bowl from the front

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5 from 5 votes

Shanghai sweet and sour spareribs

Impossibly delicious and outrageously sticky sweet and sour pork ribs

Prep Time2

Cook Time15

Course: Main

Keyword: garlic spareribs, sweet and sour spare ribs, Tang Cu Pai Gu

Servings:

Calories: 487kcal

Author: romain | glebekitchen

Ingredients

Pre-cooked spareribs

1.5 lbs spare ribs cut into individual ribs and into one inch pieces. Your grocer or butcher should be able to help.
3 tbsp all purpose soy
2 tbsp shaoxing wine
1 star anise
enough water to cover

The sweet and sour ribs

the pre-cooked ribs from above
2 tbsp neutral oil - something with a high smoke point like canola or safflower. Not olive oil. Please not olive oil.
2 Ounces rock sugar - by weight. About 1/4 cup
1 tbsp minced ginger
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp minced fresh green chili - seeded finger hot or jalapeño work nicely
2 tbsp dark soy
1 tbsp black vinegar - available at Chinese groceries
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp ajinomoto aka MSG (optional but not really optional)
1 tbsp shaoxing wine

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Braise the ribs

Blanching meat when making stocks is a great trick I am borrowing from making Tonkotsu broth. Grab a pot large enough to hold the ribs, cover with water and bring to a boil over medium heat. Let them boil a couple of minutes.
You should be looking at a big raft of gunk at this point. Strain the ribs, discarding the liquid and give them a good rinse under cold water. Why cold? Because the ribs are hot and you are going to have to handle them.
Depending on how gunked up the ribs are you may have to rinse each rib individually. The pork broth you are going to make here is great for noodle soups. You will want to keep it.
Combine the 3 tbsp all purpose soy sauce, 2 tbsp shaoxing wine, the star anise, water and the now blanched ribs in the same pot (rinsed of any gunk from the previous step). I prefer a pot over a wok here but that's just me. Do what you know.
Bring to a simmer, cover and cook until the ribs are just tender. If you have an instant read thermometer 195-200F is your target. This should take between 1 and 2 hours. Depends on just how meaty your ribs are.
Remove the ribs from the liquid. Strain the liquid and store in the fridge. When cooled, skim the fat from the surface. You now have some great stock for an Asian noodle soup.
If you get into these ribs you can make big batches and freeze them. That way you can make these ribs any night of the week.

Make the ribs

Do your prep. This is going to go fast. Chop your garlic, ginger and chilies. Combine the soy, black vinegar and sesame oil in a small bowl. Measure out your shaoxing wine.
Preheat your wok. I'd say 12 inches is about the minimum diameter you want here.
Add the oil and rock sugar. Stir until the sugar melts and you turns light caramel colour. This should take three or four minutes.
Add the ribs and toss until they are well coated with the caramel. You'll be able to clearly see what is coated and what is not.
Add the garlic, ginger and chilies. Cook, tossing the ingredients in the pan for about 30 seconds. You want to keep things moving here to make sure you don't burn the garlic.
Turn the heat up. Add the soy/vinegar/sesame oil mixture. Pour it down the sides of the wok. It isn't easy getting wok hei at home. Everything helps. Add the MSG if using.
Cook for about a minute. You want things to reduce a bit. Then add the shaoxing wine. Cook another minute or so.
Serve garnished with sesame seeds if you like.

Notes

This recipe serves 4 as part of a larger meal (rice, ribs, vegetables and maybe another protein or noodle dish) in a takeaway style dinner. If you are just mowing down on ribs it's more likely barely enough for two.

Nutrition