Chinese🥩 Meat

The Best Sweet and Sour Ribs

Name: The Best Sweet and Sour Ribs
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 3 servings
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 680 g (about 1.5 lbs) Pork ribs (short ribs); 25 g Light soy sauce (for marinating); 3/5 g Ground black pepper; 27 g Cooking oil; 50 g Sugar; 12 g Garlic cloves, peeled; 38 g Ginger, sliced thinly; 45 g Scallions, cut into stalks; 2½ g Cinnamon stick; 4/5 g Star anise; 42 g Chinese cooking wine; 48 g Rice vinegar; 50 g Light soy sauce (for cooking); 45 g Plum sauce; 360 g Water; 6 g Toasted sesame seeds (garnish)

⏱ 90 min🍽 Serves 3

Sweet and sour ribs is one of the most popular dishes that Chinese home cooks learn first, enjoyed across many regional cuisines throughout China. This cherished family recipe passed down from the creator's grandmother uses simple ingredients to achieve a perfectly balanced flavor profile. A fond childhood memory is fighting with siblings over the remaining sauce on the plate to mix with white rice.

Adapted from a video by Souped Up Recipes

The BEST Sweet and Sour Ribs – A Taste of Chinese Home Cooking!

Watch on YouTube

Ingredients

Pork ribs (short ribs)680 g (about 1.5 lbs)
Light soy sauce (for marinating)25 g
Ground black pepper3/5 g
Cooking oil27 g
Sugar50 g
Garlic cloves, peeled12 g
Ginger, sliced thinly38 g
Scallions, cut into stalks45 g
Cinnamon stick2½ g

Steps

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1
Cut the pork ribs into individual pieces and marinate them with soy sauce and black pepper for 15 minutes to build a flavor foundation.
2
Heat a wok with oil until smoking and sear the ribs over high heat for 1–2 minutes to lightly char the surface and develop complex flavors through the Maillard reaction, then set aside.
3
Add sugar to the same wok and stir over medium-low heat for about 3 minutes until caramelized, watching for foamy bubbles as the signal to proceed.
4
Add garlic, sliced ginger, scallion stalks, cinnamon stick, star anise, and the seared ribs, then stir for about 1 minute until fragrant.
5
Add soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine, rice vinegar, and plum sauce, then stir for a couple of minutes to blend all the seasonings together.
6
Transfer the mixture to a clay pot (or stainless steel or Dutch oven), rinse the wok with water and add to the pot to preserve all flavors, then simmer over low heat for about 50 minutes until the ribs are fork-tender.
7
Discard the softened aromatics and turn the heat to high, constantly stirring to reduce the sauce until it becomes thick enough to coat the ribs in a glossy glaze.
8
Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds for a nutty flavor and garnish, then serve.

The Best Sweet and Sour Ribs

Ingredients

Steps

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