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Dad’s off-menu ribs

A serving plate full of sticky ribs with cucumber and rice on the side

Dad’s off-menu ribs

Name: Dad’s off-menu ribs
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 2 spring onions sliced into 2cm lengths; 1 thumb of ginger peeled; 2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce; 2 tbsp light soy sauce; 4 tbsp Chinkiang black rice vinegar (if you can’t find it use malt vinegar); 2 tbsp shaoxing wine; 1 tbsp oyster sauce; 1 tbsp ketchup; 1 tbsp chilli powder; 4 tbsp granulated sugar; 1 kg pork ribs; boiled rice and steamed pak choi to serve

Angela Hui

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Serves 4

Easy

Cook: 1 hr and 30 mins

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Impress with sweet, sour, spicy and umami pork ribs – be patient with this one, as time is the most important factor for tender meat

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Try Angela Hui's recipe for Chinese-style pork ribs, then try her Chinese wontons, Chinese steamed sea bass, claypot rice, pork ribs and chop suey. You can find more British Chinese recipes and read Angela's memoir about growing up in a Chinese takeaway here.

Angela says, "I’ve always liked to think that food is how my parents express their love to us. We didn’t have big heart-to-hearts or have family day trips, but watching dad painstakingly braise pork ribs until they fell off the bone for our enjoyment and satisfaction was all I needed to see. This sweet, sour, spicy and umami pork ribs recipe is my father’s secret off-the-menu dish. We typically served a skinnier deep-fried barbecue version of ribs on the takeaway menu for customers, but we reserved the fattier, succulent, bite-sized version for our family meal. I loved watching him huddle over the hob, checking the temperature and occasionally stirring to prevent burning. Going from one corner to the other, rummaging around the kitchen and scouring fridge shelves looking for the right sauces, splaying out almost every condiment we had on the silver worktop island. No matter how many times I make it, it’s never as good as his version. Be patient with this one, as time is the most important factor for tender meat."

Dad’s Chinese style off-menu ribs recipe

Ingredients

Nutrition

2 spring onions

sliced into 2cm lengths
1 thumb of ginger

peeled
2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
2 tbsp light soy sauce
4 tbsp Chinkiang black rice vinegar

(if you can’t find it use malt vinegar)
2 tbsp shaoxing wine
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp chilli powder
4 tbsp granulated sugar
1 kg pork ribs
boiled rice and steamed pak choi

to serve

Nutrition: per serving

kcal426
fat18.6g
saturates6.8g
carbs28.3g
sugars26.7g
fibre0.7g
protein35.8g
salt2.3g

Method

step 1

Put all the ingredients into a large bowl and mix, ensuring the sauce is rubbed into the pork. Cover and marinate somewhere cool for at least 3 hrs or overnight in the fridge for best results.
step 2

Put everything into in a heavy-bottomed pan. Cook on low heat for 1 hr 30 mins with the lid on. Stir occasionally to prevent the bottom from burning. Keep going until the liquid has thickened to a sauce, take the lid off if necessary, or adjust the sauce by adding a splash of water if needed. Serve with boiled rice and pak choi.

Try more ways with ribs.

Three racks of ribs with three bowls of salad and a beer

Authors

A profile of Angela Hui with a bowl of wontons

Angela Hui

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