One of my favorite foods to order when we go out for Chinese are the spareribs. They are just a tiny bit spicy, with a hint of sweetness, and oh so sticky good. Finger licking good! They are very different from the American version of ribs that are slathered in a savory, smokey barbecue sauce.
I could never figure out how they got the spareribs to be so sticky and delicious. I always assumed that it was a complicated process that would take forever to achieve.
Well I have some really great news! It’s SUPER easy to make these wickedly delicious, sticky spareribs at home. And truth be told, I like them better than the spareribs from my favorite Chinese restaurant. They were more meaty and because we devoured them as soon as they came out of the oven, they were fresher than the ones served up at restaurants. They were moist and juicy, not dried out and tough. They take some time to cook so I’m guessing the spareribs at restaurants most likely hang out under a heat lamp for hours before they are served to customers. I’ve had some tough, dried out spareribs at restaurants over the years.
Do these look good to you? They are meaty and sticky and yummy and I really should have doubled the recipe!!! Doesn’t the picture just make your mouth water? Juicy and sticky and delicious; these are everything a really good Chinese sparerib should be!
Alright, wipe the drool off your chin and let’s get started. These are very easy to make, but they do take a little time.
Begin by gathering together the ingredients you need for this recipe.
Using a meat cleaver or very sharp knife, cut a rack of pork ribs into single rib pieces.
Place the ribs in a dish large enough so that you can lay them out in a single layer.
In a mixing bowl, combine soy sauce, Hoisin sauce, Chinese 5 spice, rice vinegar, brown sugar, chili garlic sauce and crushed garlic cloves. Stir to combine all the ingredients.
Pour sauce over the individual ribs in the pan.
Using tongs, turn ribs to make sure they are completely coated in the sauce.
Once ribs are completely coated with the sauce, cover the pan with plastic wrap and allow ribs to marinate in the fridge for at least one hour. I prepped my ribs in the morning so they marinated in the sauce for several hours. Turn them occasionally as they marinate so that the sauce can really soak into the meat.
Easy peasy so far right? Guess what? That was the hardest part! Now comes the fun part, cooking them up.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. While oven is preheating set up the roasting rack. I used a wire rack that I placed over the bottom portion of a broiler pan. Use whatever you have on hand. Any oven safe pan will work.
Fill the pan 1/2 full with warm water and place the wire rack on top. The water will create steam in the oven as the ribs cook. It keeps them nice and moist and helps develop the sticky sauce that we all love so much!
Place ribs on the wire rack in a single layer and baste with some of the sauce that is in the pan.
Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven.
Turn ribs over and baste the other side. Discard any remaining marinade sauce that might be left over.
Return ribs to the oven and bake for another 30 minutes. Keep an eye on the water level in the roasting pan and add more water if needed. You don’t want to let the pan dry out. We want steam. Steam = juicy on the inside, sticky on the outside ribs!
Remove ribs when they are beginning to crisp along the ends.
Serve immediately with plenty of napkins. These are so stinking good! One rack of ribs was barely enough to feed my husband, teenage son and myself. We were all wishing for at least a couple more ribs each. They were finger licking good!!!
You know what would go great with these? I know they aren’t a Chinese dish but man oh man, Crack Potatoes would be the perfect pairing to go along with these delicious ribs! I actually can’t think of any meal that wouldn’t pair well with Crack Potatoes. It’s one of the most popular recipes here on Nature Way, and for good reason! They are stinking AMAZING!!!
When ribs go on sale again I know what I will be making! These are so easy to make and a thousand times better than anything you can get at a restaurant. They are such a nice change of pace to the usual barbecued ribs I make on the grill. You can eat these ribs year round since you don’t need a grill to make them, just your oven.
Chinese Spareribs
Equipment
- Wire rack fitted over a roasting pan
Ingredients
- 3 lbs pork spareribs
- 4 tbsp Soy sauce
- 6 tbsp Hoisin sauce
- 2 tbsp Chinese rice wine vinegar
- pinch Chinese 5 spice powder
- 4 tsp brown sugar
- ½ tsp chili garlic sauce
- 6 cloves garlic, crushed
Instructions
Prep Ribs
- Using a meat cleaver or sharp knife, cut ribs into separate pieces and place them into a pan large enough to hold them in a single layer.
- In a mixing bowl combine the remaining ingredients; Soy sauce, Hoisin sauce, Rice vinegar, Chinese 5 spice, brown sugar, chili sauce and crushed garlic.
- Pour marinade over spareribs and turn to coat.
- Cover dish with plastic wrap and marinate in the fridge for at least 1 hour. Turn ribs from time to time while marinading.
Cook Ribs
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Place a wire rack over a roasting pan. Fill roasting pan half full with warm water.
- Using tongs, remove ribs from marinade and place them in a single layer on the wire rack. Brush with marinade; reserve the remaining marinade.
- Cook ribs for 30 minutes.
- Remove from oven and turn ribs over. Baste with remaining marinade and return to the oven to cook for another 30 minutes.
- Add additional water to the roasting pan if needed. The water steams the ribs as they cook so they do not dry out.
- Transfer ribs to a warm serving platter and serve immediately.
- Provide plenty of napkins when serving.
Did You Make This?
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