This simple and hassle-free recipe requires no marinating or complex steps. Just toss all the ingredients together, add a splash of water, and cover to braise.
It’s the perfect choice for new cooks looking to impress or someone looking to make a quick Asian-inspired meal.
What You Will Need
For this braised soy sauce pork rib recipe, you’ll need the following ingredients:
Pork Ribs — You can use any cut of pork ribs: baby back ribs, spareribs, St. Louis ribs, and country ribs. These are the four most common cuts of pork ribs and only differ from where they originate on the pig. Pork spare ribs are more commonly sold, and that’s what I’m using here.
Light Soy Sauce — This is simply regular soy sauce. It’s used as the base of the braising liquid to add a salty umami flavor. I use Lee Kum Kee light soy sauce.
Dark Soy Sauce — This type of soy sauce mainly adds a deep caramel color to pork ribs and many other Chinese brown dishes. It has a slightly thicker consistency and is less salty than light soy sauce. I use Lee Kum Kee dark soy sauce.
Sugar — Sugar is used to balance the salty flavor of the soy sauce and provide a touch of sweetness. I’m using regular granulated white sugar. You can also use golden brown or dark brown sugar, which is a great substitute if you don’t have dark soy sauce. The dark color of the sugar will help to replace the missing color of dark soy sauce.
Shaoxing Wine — Sometimes spelled as Shaohsing, this is an essential ingredient to achieve that distinct aroma known in Chinese cooking. It’s often sold with a large red label. If you don’t have Shaoxing wine, you can substitute with dry sherry or simply omit.
Rice Vinegar — The acidity of the rice vinegar helps to tenderize the meat and cut through the fatty ribs, resulting in a more balanced flavor. An inexpensive and delicious brand that I always have on hand is Marukan rice vinegar.
Garlic and Ginger — For that classic Asian aroma.
Water — A splash of water is needed for the braising liquid to ensure the ribs get fully cooked.
Green Onions (optional for garnish) — Thinly sliced to bring freshness and a pop of color to the finished dish.
How to Make It
Step 1: Cut the pork spare ribs into bite-size pieces.
You can get pork spare ribs at Asian grocery stores that will come in strings rather than large slabs. Separate the string of ribs by cutting in between the bones to get short pieces of ribs.
If have a large slab of pork ribs instead, start by cutting in between the bones. Then use a sharp Asian meat cleaver to chop them into 1.5” inch pieces. Do not try to use your regular knives for this. You will ruin it!
A meat cleaver is thick and heavy and can cut through bones without ruining the knife. Just be mindful of getting those precious fingers out of the way.
Step 2: Parboil the ribs.
Add pork ribs and water to cover in a medium pot. Bring the water to a boil or until scum floats to the top (about 12 minutes). Drain into a colander in the sink and rinse well.
This parboiling step removes all the gunk from the bones and any tiny bone fragments that would otherwise remain in the finished glaze. Additionally, it helps eliminate any gamey smell from the pork.
Step 3: Braise with all the seasonings.
Wash pot thoroughly and return to stove. Add the parboiled pork ribs and all the ingredients. Cover and simmer on low to braise. The braising cooking method will cook and tenderize the ribs, while its absorbing all the flavors from the seasoning.
Step 4: Uncover and reduce the sauce.
Once the ribs are nice and tender, uncover the skillet and continue cooking. This will allow most of the liquid to be cooked off, resulting in a shiny glaze that will coat the ribs.
Step 5: Garnish, serve and enjoy.
To make it pretty, garnish with thinly sliced green onions. Serve it with rice or noodles for a complete meal.
Variations
You can make this recipe with any other ribs such as beef ribs. You can also make this with bone-in chicken and even tofu for a meatless option.
If you want to bring out the aroma of garlic and ginger even more, pan-fry with a tiny bit of oil then add the rest of the ingredients in the skillet.
Other Recipes
If you enjoy this recipe, you may also enjoy the Vietnamese-version of pork ribs braised in fish sauce:
Vietnamese Caramelized Pork Spare Ribs (Suon Ram Man)
Other quick recipes with soy sauce:
- Pan-Fried Soy Sauce Noodles
- Fried Fish with Soy Sauce
- Steamed Fish with Scallions, Ginger & Soy Sauce
- Restaurant-Style Beef & Broccoli Stir Fry
Other Chinese recipes to try:
- Mongolian Beef Stir Fry with Bell Peppers
- Crispy Salt & Pepper Beef
- Barbecue Pork (Thit Xa Xiu/Char Siu)
- Crispy Roasted Pork Belly
- Honey Walnut Shrimp
Easy Chinese-Style Soy Sauce Braised Pork Ribs
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
A recipe for tender, bite-size pieces of pork ribs coated in a sweet and savory sticky glaze. This simple and hassle-free recipe requires no marinating or complex steps. Just toss all the ingredients together, add a splash of water, and cover to braise.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs pork spare ribs
- 1 tablespoon granulated white sugar
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing cooking wine
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 green onion (thinly sliced)
Instructions
- Clean pork ribs: Cut your spare ribs into bite size pieces. In a medium pot with a lid, add pork ribs and water to cover. Bring the water to a boil or until scum floats to the top (about 12 minutes). Drain into a colander in the sink and rinse well.
- Season: Wash pot thoroughly and return to stove. Add parboiled ribs, sugar, soy sauce, dark soy sauce, Shaoxing cooking wine, rice vinegar, water (1 cup), ginger, and garlic.
- Simmer: Cover and simmer for 35 minutes, tossing halfway for even cooking.
- Thicken sauce: Remove the lid and continue cooking until sauce has thickened and coats ribs (about 3 minutes).
- Serve: Garnish with thinly sliced green onions and serve with rice or noodles for a complete meal.
Notes
If you don’t have dark soy sauce, use brown sugar instead of white sugar. The dark color of the sugar will help to replace the missing color of dark soy sauce.
If you don’t have Shaoxing cooking wine, you can omit or substitute with dry sherry.
- Prep Time: 12 minutes
- Cook Time: 38 minutes
- Category: side dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: asian, chinese
