Instant Pot Honey Spare Ribs

1. Gather all the ingredients.
2. Pat dry 3 lbs spare ribs with paper towels and season with 1 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
3. Finely mince ½ onion.
4. Grate the ginger and measure 1 tsp ginger (grated, with juice). Mince 1 clove garlic (or use a garlic press).
5. Press the Sauté button on your Instant Pot and heat 1 Tbsp neutral oil.
6. Sear the spare ribs on both sides until nicely charred. Sear in batches and don't overcrowd the cooking surface. Don’t touch the meat until it has a nice char; it will release by itself once the surface achieves a golden-brown crust. So don’t worry about the meat sticking to the bottom of the pot.
7. Once seared, transfer the meat to a plate or bowl. Continue with the remaining spare ribs.
8. If there is a significant amount of oil left on the pot, discard by wiping it off with a sheet of paper towel. It really depends on the spare ribs. I had to use this trick for some spare ribs, while I didn’t see much oil left for this batch of spare ribs.
9. Add the minced onion and coat with the oil. Then, add 4 Tbsp sake to deglaze the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Make sure to deglaze completely so the IP doesn’t give you a "Burn" message. If the alcohol evaporates too quickly, just add a splash of sake again.
10. Continuously add the grated ginger and minced garlic and stir to mix.
11. Add the spare ribs, 4 Tbsp mirin, 3 Tbsp sugar, and 1 Tbsp rice vinegar (unseasoned).
12. Add in 4 Tbsp soy sauce and 4 Tbsp honey and mix all together one last time.
13. Press Cancel to stop the Sauté menu. Close the lid and press the Manual or Pressure Cook menu. Then set to High pressure for 20 minutes. If your pieces are bigger than 1 inch, increase the cooking time to 25–30 minutes. Make sure the steam release handle points at Sealing and not Venting. The float valve goes up when pressurized.
14. While pressure cooking, you can prepare blanched vegetables and steamed rice.
15. When it’s finished cooking, the Instant Pot will switch automatically to the Keep Warm mode. Let the pressure release naturally for 30 minutes. If the valve hasn’t dropped yet, then quick release the air (be careful and cover your fingers with a kitchen towel).
16. Open the lid and gently stir the ingredients. Serve the spare ribs with steamed vegetables and rice.

To Store

1. Keep in the airtight container and store for 3–4 days in the refrigerator.