Chilli pork spare ribs

By Ken Hom

Contains pork – recipe is for non-Muslims only

Juicy spare ribs braised with a chilli and hoisin sauce that make a succulent side dish to any Chinese feast

Prep:10 mins
Cook:1 hrs 30 mins

Serves 4
More effort

Nutrition per serving

kcal 405
fat 22g
saturates 8g
carbs 20g
sugars 11g
fibre 2g
protein 30g
salt 4.7g

Ingredients

600ml groundnut oil
1kg pork spare ribs, separated into individual ribs
850ml chicken stock
2 tbsp chilli bean sauce
1 tbsp granulated sugar
75ml Shaohsing rice wine or dry Sherry
1½ tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tbsp light soy sauce
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 spring onions, finely chopped
2 tbsp whole yellow bean sauce (optional)
3 tbsp hoisin sauce
2 tbsp cornflour blended with 3 tbsp water

Tip

Storing the sauce

The braising sauce can be frozen after step 2 and reused the next time you make this dish. If you want to get ahead, the dish can be prepared up to this point the day before.

Method

Heat the oil in a deep-fat fryer or large wok and deep-fry the spare ribs until they are brown and crisp. Do this in several batches, draining each cooked batch well on kitchen paper.
Combine all the sauce ingredients in a large pan and bring to the boil. Add the deep-fried spare ribs, cover and simmer for about 1 hr or until they are tender. Drain off the sauce and remove any remaining fat.
Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Put the spare ribs on a rack in a roasting tin and bake in the oven for 15-20 mins until they are brown, basting with the braising sauce every 5 mins.
Using a cleaver or a sharp, heavy knife, chop the spare ribs into 6cm-long pieces. Turn them onto a warm serving platter and serve immediately.