Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs (甜酸排骨, Tim4 Syun1 Paai4 Gwat1)

This recipe was updated on 13 Aug 2015. Some instructions were changed.

This dish can be found in all Cantonese style restaurants in the USA. It’s probably one of the more popular dishes that is ordered by just about everyone, both locals and tourists, and is almost stereotypical when a dish is associated with Chinese food in the USA. However, the recipe for this dish is not like that found in restaurants. In the typical sweet and sour restaurant dish, the meat and sauce is bright red, being heavily dyed using food coloring. You will notice that there’s not a speck of red in the sauce or pork spareribs in this dish. The lack of the red coloring doesn’t affect the taste in any way. This dish is also healthier than your typical restaurant sweet and sour dish since the spareribs are braised and not deep fried - if one can call a pork sparerib dish healthy!

Enjoy!

Ingredients

2 lb.	1 kg.	Pork spareribs (排骨, paai4 gwat1) already cut into 1-2 inch (2.5-5 cm.) pieces
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Baking soda (蘇打粉, sou1 daa2 fan2)
½ in.	15 mm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), crushed in a garlic press
2 cloves	2 cloves	Garlic (蒜, syun3), crushed in a garlic press
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Corn starch (粟粉, suk1 fan2)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Soy sauce (豉油, si6 jau4)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Hoisin sauce (海鮮醬, hoi2 sin1 zoeng3)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)
2	2	Carrots (紅蘿蔔, hung4 lo4 baak6) cut into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces on the diagonal
½ lb.	250 g.	Snow peas (荷蘭豆, ho4 laan4 dau6)
		Oil for cooking

Sauce Ingredients

1½-2 cups	350-500 ml.	Brown sugar (紅糖, hung4 tong4)
1 cup	250 ml.	Chinkiang vinegar (镇江香醋, zan3 gong1 hoeng1 cou3) or black vinegar (黑米醋, hak1 mai5 cou3)
2	2	¼-inch (7.5 mm.) slices of ginger (薑, goeng1)
3 Tbs.	45 ml.	Tapioca starch (木薯澱粉, muk6 syu4 din6 fan2)

Equipment

8 qt.	7.5 L.	Pot to parboil the beef tendon and outside flank
		or
6 qt.	5.7 L.	Dutch oven
		Fat separator

Chinkiang Vinegar
(镇江香醋, zan3 gong1 hoeng1 cou3)

Preparation Instructions

1. The pork spareribs can be purchased already cut into 1-2 inch (2.5-5 cm.) pieces or have your butcher cut the spareribs into pieces for you. Wet with water and add baking soda to the pork, allow to tenderize for 30 minutes, and then wash the baking soda from the meat. The baking soda can be omitted but results in the tender meat experienced in restaurant dishes.
2. Marinate the pork in a covered container for at least one hour or overnight in the refrigerator with the ginger and garlic crushed in a garlic press, corn starch, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. If marinating the pork overnight, take it out of the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking.
3. The ratio of the amount of sugar and vinegar gives the sauce in this dish its distinctive flavor. Add the Chinkiang or black vinegar to the pot or Dutch oven, then stir in 1½ cups (350 ml.) of brown sugar and taste the mixture. If the mixture is too sour, add more brown sugar until the balance of sweet to sour is balanced to your taste, or if too sweet, add more Chinkiang or black vinegar. Add the slices of ginger and the tapioca starch to the sauce in the pot or Dutch oven. Stir the sauce to mix all the ingredients together.
4. Add the pork spareribs and marinade to the pot or Dutch oven.
5. Wash and cut the carrots on the diagonal into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces. Add the carrots to the pot or Dutch oven.
6. Wash and remove the string from the snow peas by grasping each snow pea in one hand and pulling the tip the length of the snow pea with the other.

Cooking Instructions

1. Bring the uncovered pot or Dutch oven to a boil over high heat, cover, and then reduce the heat to low and simmer for 40-45 minutes. Add the snow peas during the last 2 minutes of cooking to keep them crisp.
2. Transfer the contents of the pot or Dutch oven to a serving dish using a slotted spoon. Remove any excess fat from the liquid using a fat separator and then pour the sauce into the serving dish. Serve with steamed rice.