When my younger brother was little, at Chinese restaurants he would only ever eat dishes there were sweet and sour. There are plenty of dishes that satisfy this requirement and the combination is so popular because the flavours work so well together. This simple recipe creates a sauce that balances sweetness and sourness and features traditional Chinese aromatics like green onion and ginger. The recipe can also be adapted to other proteins such as pork belly or chicken.
- 2 lbs pork ribs, cut into 2 inch segments
- 1 tbsp light soy cause
- 2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Chinese vinegar
- 2 cups of water
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 inch cube of ginger
- 2 tbsp green onion stem (white part only) chopped
- 2 tbsp white sugar
- Toasted Sesame Seeds to garnish
- Rinse the ribs with cold water, pat dry and place in a large bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of light soy sauce and 1 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine. Mix together and let marinate for 15 minutes.
- In a pan or flat bottomed wok, heat 1 tablespoon of cooking oil, brown the ribs and set aside.
- In the same pan, heat oil and sauté green onions and ginger until fragrant, set aside.
- Set heat to low, and oil and sugar, stir constantly to melt the sugar and let it caramelize (there may be oil splatter).
- Add the ribs and stir to coat them in the melted sugar.
- Add in the cooked green onion and ginger, the remaining Chinese cooking wine, dark soy sauce, vinegar and water. Turn heat to high and bring the wok to a boil.
- Cover and simmer on low for 30 minutes to reduce the sauce, stirring occasionally.
- Once the sauce has thickened (where almost no water remains), remove from heat.
- Serve over rice and garnish with toasted sesame seeds.
Step by Step Photos
Assemble ingredients
Rinse ribs and pat dry
Chop ginger and green onion
Brown ribs
Once browned, set aside ribs
Cook green onion and ginger
Melt sugar in hot oil
Add ribs back to wok and coat in melted sugar
Add remaining ingredients
Bring to a boil and simmer on low and reduce until sauce thickens
Leave a Reply