Chinese Spareribs Recipe (2024)

Chinese
Roasted Pork
Pork Mains
Game Day

Glossy, lacquered ribs that are simple to make at home

J. Kenji López-Alt

Culinary Consultant

Kenji is the former culinary director for Serious Eats and a current culinary consultant for the site. He is also a New York Times food columnist and the author of The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science.

Learn about Serious Eats'Editorial Process

Updated September 16, 2022

(5)

Why It Works

The addition of honey in the glaze adds a lacquered shine.
Covering the ribs with foil and roasting on a rack set over a baking sheet keeps moisture in but allows fat to drip off.
At the end of cooking, the ribs are uncovered and a blast of high heat caramelizes the glaze.

Chinese-style barbecue spareribsare a form ofsiu mei, Cantonese-style roasted meats.You know, the ones that hang out in the windows in Chinatown?

The most common cut of meat used for traditional char siu isthin strips of fatty pork shoulder,but ribs are not uncommon and make perfect finger foods. Justmake sure to lick 'em cleanunless you want to leave a greasy fingerprint on your co*cktail.

The characteristic red hue of char siu comes fromred food coloring,which you can add to the marinade if you'd like, but I prefer to goau natural.It's plenty pretty on its own.

Hoisin sauce—a fermented soy bean-based sweet and savory barbecue sauce—is the primary flavoring agent in the marinade. It gets spiked withfive-spice powder, a balanced blend of star anise, fennel, cloves, cinnamon, and Sichuan peppercorn. The addition of honey (or more often in professional restaurants, glucose syrup) gives the ribs a shiny, lacquered appearance.

Traditionally,char siu is hung from spikes on the roof of a wood-burning ovenand roasted vertically so fat can drip down and baste it as it cooks. At home, roasting them in the oven gets the job done. Start ribs on a rack set in a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil to prevent excessive moisture loss, then finish by removing the foil, cranking up the heat, and letting the sweet marinade caramelize the exterior.

April 2011

After additional testing, this recipe was updated to add language regarding the doneness of the meat and to adjust the cooking time.

Recipe Details

Chinese Spareribs Recipe

Prep10 mins

Cook105 mins

Marinating Time8 hrs

Total9 hrs 55 mins

Ingredients

1 tablespoon Chinese five-spice powder
1 full rack St. Louis-style spareribs, cut into individual ribs (about 3 pounds total) (see note)
1/2 cup (120g) hoisin sauce
1/4 cup (60ml) Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
2 tablespoons (30ml) soy sauce
1/4 cup (80g) honey

Directions

Sprinkle five-spice powder evenly over ribs and rub until thoroughly coated. Set ribs aside.
Combine hoisin sauce, shaoxing wine, soy sauce, and honey in a gallon-sized zipper lock bag. Add ribs to bag and mix until evenly coated. Seal bag, transfer to refrigerator, and let ribs marinate at least overnight and up to three nights.
When ready to cook, preheat oven to 375°F. Remove ribs from bag, wiping off excess marinade with your fingers (reserve marinade). Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, set a wire rack in it, and spread the ribs evenly over the rack. Cover with aluminum foil and roast until a paring knife can be inserted into the meat with minimal resistance, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Remove foil, brush ribs with marinade, increase heat to 450°F, and roast until charred, glazed, and sticky, about 20 minutes longer, rotating ribs and basting with marinade once more during cooking. Let rest 10 minutes, then serve.

Notes

You can add a few drops of red food coloring to the marinade if you want a deeper red hue to your ribs.

Baby back ribs will work just as well as St. Louis-cut.

Chinese five spice powder can be found in the spice section of most major supermarkets. You can make your own by combining 1 teaspoon powdered cinnamon, 2 teaspoons powdered fennel, 1 teaspoon powdered star anise, 1/4 teaspoon powdered cloves, and 1/2 teaspoon powdered Sichuan peppercorns (substitute ginger for Sichuan peppercorns for a different style of five spice).

Serious Entertaining: A Dim Sum-Inspired Chinese Food Party

Nutrition Facts (per serving)
531	Calories
35g	Fat
32g	Carbs
24g	Protein

Show Full Nutrition Label

Nutrition Facts
Servings: 3to 5
Amount per serving
Calories	531
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 35g	44%
Saturated Fat 10g	51%
Cholesterol 115mg	38%
Sodium 1007mg	44%
Total Carbohydrate 32g	12%
Dietary Fiber 1g	5%
Total Sugars 25g
Protein 24g
Vitamin C 0mg	2%
Calcium 50mg	4%
Iron 2mg	13%
Potassium 432mg	9%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)