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EASY 12345 Chinese Ribs (5-ingredients)

These Chinese Spare Ribs are delicious, finger-licking Asian-style pork spare ribs that are as simple to cook as 12345 (a mnemonic device that will also help you recall the recipe.) Using only the Asian pantry staples of wine, dark soy sauce, vinegar and sugar to braise the meat, with only a few minutes of active cooking, this is the best easy sticky Chinese Spare Ribs for a lazy food lover.

Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
5 mins
Brining: overnight
8 hrs
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 403 kcal
Course: Side Dish , Main Course
Cuisine: Chinese

Ingredients

  • 1 lb Pork ribs, cut into small pieces i.e. 454g Ask the butcher to cut it for you to make your life easier!
  • Salt & Water to brine the meat overnight Optional step
  • For the sauce See Variations in the pot above for how to vary the sauce once you've got the basic one down.
  • 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine Substitute: a dry sherry
  • 2 tablespoons dark soya sauce Not to be confused with light soy. You can also make your own dark soy.
  • 3 tablespoons rice vinegar Substitute: white wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar or chinkiang vinegar (note the latter will make the ribs very black and it's hard to tell if they burn.)
  • 4 tablespoons brown sugar Substitute: granulated white sugar or rock sugar
  • 5 tablespoons water If doubling or tripling the recipe, e.g. if you use 2 or 3 lbs of pork, you double/ triple all the ingredients for the sauce except the water. (Too much water will lengthen the cooking time.)
  • Sliced green onions, sesame seeds, coriander etc Optional garnishes. You can use these instead of spring onions.

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Optional: Mix the salt and water till the salt has dissolved to make the brine. Place the pork into the brine and refrigerate overnight.
  2. Half an hour before cooking, remove the ribs from the fridge, rinse and pat dry. Leave till the ribs are room temperature/ about 20 minutes. Note: Cooking cold meat turns it hard and dry!
  3. Put the meat in a pot over high heat. Add the rest of the ingredients and give them a stir to make sure everything is mixed well. Once it's come to a boil, turn down to low heat whilst maintaining a gentle simmer.
  4. Cover and leave it for 40 minutes over low fire. Give it a stir every now and then, making sure there's enough liquid in the pot and that you give the ribs a toss.
  5. After 40 minutes, uncover the pot and increase the heat so that everything comes to a sizzling boil. This is the key step to making the pork caramelised you want a thick, sticky sauce but you don't want it to burn. (Turn the heat down if the sauce looks like it's burning.)
  6. Keep stirring till most of the sauce has evaporated and is a thick glaze consistency. Serve with white rice!

Notes

  • If you don't have time to brine, an alternative is to simmer the ribs in water for 1 hour before straining and cooking with the sauces. (Keep the water the pork has simmered in: it's pork stock!) The meat then simmers in the sauce for another 40 minutes, after which it is perfectly juicy, tender and flavourful all the way through to the bone.
  •  
  • Note on serving size
  • Asian food is usually served with many other dishes such as cucumber salad and pumpkin soup. If you are eating Western style (where this dish is the main), the recipe will not serve 4 people! (You will need to increase the portion depending on your appetite- maybe double it for 4 people?)
  • If you want to increase the amount, keep in mind that the time required to reduce the sauce may also increase.

Nutrition Information

Calories 403kcal (20%) Carbohydrates 20g (7%) Protein 18g (36%) Fat 27g (42%) Saturated Fat 9g (45%) Polyunsaturated Fat 4g Monounsaturated Fat 10g Trans Fat 0.3g Cholesterol 91mg (30%) Sodium 258mg (11%) Potassium 292mg (8%) Sugar 18g (36%) Calcium 28mg (3%) Iron 1mg (6%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 4people

Amount Per Serving

Calories 403

% Daily Value*

Calories 403kcal 20%
Carbohydrates 20g 7%
Protein 18g 36%
Fat 27g 42%
Saturated Fat 9g 45%
Polyunsaturated Fat 4g 24%
Monounsaturated Fat 10g 50%
Trans Fat 0.3g 15%
Cholesterol 91mg 30%
Sodium 258mg 11%
Potassium 292mg 6%
Sugar 18g 36%
Calcium 28mg 3%
Iron 1mg 6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.