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–+ servings
sweet and sour pork ribs with green onions on top
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5 from 1 vote

Sweet and Sour Chinese Spare Ribs

Ding Tai Fung inspired pork ribs are pull apart tender and taste like an explosion of sweet, salty and sour. The sauce coating the ribs is sticky and very fragrant from the Chinese black vinegar.
Prep Time45 minutes
Cook Time45 minutes
Total Time1 hour 30 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Chinese
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 511kcal
Author: Dana

Ingredients

To roast ribs:

  • 2 pounds pork ribs (bone-in)
  • 1 tablespoon avocado oil to brush
  • ½ tablespoon salt

Cooking

  • 1 tablespoon avocado oil
  • ½ cup sugar or rock sugar
  • seared ribs
  • 1 cup water
  • ¼ cup black vinegar cannot substitute with other vinegars
  • ¼ cup regular soy sauce
  • 3 tablespoon shaoxing cooking wine
  • 4 slices ginger
  • 3 green onions white parts only
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 3 garlic cloves

At end of cooking:

  • ¼ cup black vinegar adjust on how sweet and sour you like it
  • sesame seeds and green onions for garnish

Instructions

Roasting Pork Ribs

  • Wash ribs with water and soak for at least 15 minutes, drain and pat until very dry. Place ribs on baking rack on top of a tray. Make sure they are evenly spaced out and not overcrowded.
  • Add salt and oil on the ribs and mix together thoroughly. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Scrape off the black bits (blood) off the bones after baking. This method helps make the ribs less oily and removes the blood and impurities from the bones. Set aside ribs.

Cooking Chinese Ribs

  • Start with adding sugar to cold oil in a pot on low-medium heat. Continue stirring until sugar has melted and caramelized (turned brown like soy sauce) on low-medium heat. This step is crucial and takes a lot of patience but is worth it! Cook slowly until the sugar melts and turns golden like a soy sauce color.
  • Add roasted pork ribs and coat the ribs in sugar.
  • Then, add the following sauces: 1 cup water , ¼ cup black vinegar (can not substitute with other vinegars), ¼ cup regular soy sauce, 3 tablespoon shaoxing cooking wine, ginger, green onions (white parts only), garlic and bay leaves. Turn heat to medium and bring the sauce to a boil and boil for 5 minutes.
  • Then, cover and turn heat to low for 30 minutes.
  • After 30 minutes, remove the lid and take out the green onions, and bay leaves. We don't eat those.
  • Then, cook on high for 5-10 minutes until sauce has thickened. Once the sauce has thickened to your desired likeness, add ¼ cup of black vinegar. We add at the end of cooking because the flavor of the vinegar has changed while cooking. Give it a few stirs and you’re done! If the sauce has not thickened, look in 'If you sauce is not thick enough' section of the blog above.
  • Garnish with sesame seeds and green onions and hope you enjoy!

Notes

    • Avoid Substitutions. If you don't use the rock sugar and the Zhenjiang black vinegar, the flavor and cooking methods will vary. I highly recommend the Zhenjiang black vinegar as it is less sour and it gives the ribs a darker color as well. If you really can't use rock sugar, you can use white sugar but no subs for the vinegar ◡̈
    • Be Patient. The sweet and sour sauce for this recipe requires patience when it comes to melting the sugar and thickening the sauce at the end. The rock sugar provides a red tint to the ribs due to the caramelization of the sugars. In addition, the sugar and collagen from the pork ribs will help thicken the sauce when the heat is on high so there's no need for cornstarch in this recipe.
    • Wash and Pat Dry the Ribs. Washing the ribs removes some of the strong meat flavors of the pork. After they're washed make sure to dry them so they cook up better.
    • Scraping the Bones. After cooking the spareribs in the oven, scrape off the black bits off the bone, this is actually dried blood. This method helps make the ribs less oily while removing the blood and impurities from the bones.
    • Cooking in the Air Fryer: If you decide to use your air fryer instead of the oven, reduce the cooking time to 15 minutes.
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Nutrition

Calories: 511kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 17g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 85mg | Sodium: 981mg | Potassium: 300mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 30g | Vitamin A: 60IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 1mg