Bite-size pork ribs braised and reduced in a lacquered sauce of sugar and black vinegar until glossy, sticky and clinging. A cornerstone of Shanghai and Zhejiang home cooking, served warm or at room temperature.
Sweet and sour spare ribs are a popular dish in Shanghai cuisine, where ribs are lightly coated in cornstarch, fried, and finished in a sweet and sour sauce.
The glaze hits first, sweet and then sharply sour, lacquered onto ribs you can almost pull off the bone. The meat underneath is rich and tender, and the sauce is sticky enough to coat your fingers. You end up gnawing every bone clean.
Slow braising breaks down the ribs' collagen into gelatin for fall-apart tenderness, while the final hard reduction concentrates sugar and vinegar into a syrupy glaze. Adding a last splash of vinegar off the boil keeps the sour note bright instead of cooked away.
Variations
Wuxi-style sweeter version, with pineapple, Cantonese deep-fried version, made with pork loin
On the Palate
Where Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs sits in the Chinese flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4
How it's made
8 steps · 35 min active
- 15 min
Blanch chopped pork ribs in boiling water, then rinse off the scum.
- 25 min
Brown the ribs in a little oil until lightly golden on all sides.
- 32 min
Add Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, sugar and black vinegar with water to cover.
- 418 min
Bring to a boil, then simmer covered until the ribs are tender.
- 53 min
Uncover and turn the heat up to reduce the sauce.
- 64 min
Keep stirring as the sauce thickens into a sticky glaze that coats each rib.
- 71 min
Add a final splash of vinegar for brightness and toss to coat.
- 81 min
Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds before serving.
