These soy braised spare ribs are tender, flavorful, and overall one of the best dishes to serve guests or picky eaters. The braising process caramelizes the sauce and yields a rich, mildly sweet, umami flavor. For a sweeter sauce, use hoisin sauce instead of black bean paste. While we didn’t take this particular pork rib recipe to the grill, it certainly didn’t need it! These soy braised spare ribs are comfort food taken to a sophisticated level.
What you’ll need:
- Pork spare ribs-cut into individual ribs before marinating, see below for instructions ( can use Baby Back Ribs if you choose).
- Black bean paste OR Hoisin Sauce (see above for details)
- Soy sauce
- Worcestershire sauce
- Fish sauce-a savory sauce made of fermented fish, it’s subtle, smoky, and delicious in sauces
- Mirin-a Japanese cooking wine
- Brown Sugar
- Green onions
- Garlic
- Honey
- Rice wine vinegar
- A pot large enough to braise the ribs
Prepping-Removing Membrane
Blot the back of the ribs dry with paper towel. The butter knife is probably the easiest tool for this job. Use it to separate the end of the membrane away from the bone as shown above. Have an extra paper towel piece ready, to help you grab ahold of the loosed piece of membrane.
Now, gently pull away the membrane from the bone section. Don’t worry if it breaks, just keep going and get to the rest as it comes. It take a few tries to get that hang of removing the membrane from pork ribs. After you have completed this task, cut rack into individual pork ribs, and follow the directions on the recipe.
How to Make Soy Braised Spare Ribs:
- Place ribs into a resealable plastic bag. Use two bags if needed. Combine marinade mixture and pour over ribs. Let the air out of the bag and massage ribs to work the marinade. Place into the refrigerator for 2-4 hours.
- Combine water with mirin, brown sugar, rice wine vinegar, honey, and fish sauce. Let mixture stand for 10 minutes.
- Heat oil in a skillet. Place 5 ribs into skillet and brown on all sides, about 2-3 minutes total. Remove and place them onto a clean plate. Repeat the process until all the ribs are browned.
- Add braising liquid to a large pot and bring to a simmer. Add ribs, cover, and cook over medium-low heat for 20 minutes.
- Remove lid and continue cooking for an additional 20-25 minutes until braising liquid is thick and caramelized. Turn ribs every 8-10 minutes to coat evenly.
- Once cooked through (internal temperature between 175-180 degrees F.), remove soy braised spare ribs from the pot and place them onto a serving dish. Spoon the remaining sauce onto ribs and garnish with chopped green onion.
Serving:
Serve these soy braised spare ribs with rice, a side salad, or steamed vegetables. You can also serve them as an appetizer.
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Soy Braised Spare Ribs
Ingredients
- 1 rack pork spare ribs cut into individual ribs, about 3 1/2 pounds
- 2 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1-2 green onions chopped
- Marinade:
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 1/2 teaspoons black bean paste or 2 1/2 teaspoons hoisin for substitute
- 2 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- Braising liquid:
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup mirin
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce
Instructions
- Place ribs into a resealable plastic bag. Use two bags if needed. Combine marinade mixture and pour over ribs. Let the air out of the bag and massage ribs to work the marinade. Place into the refrigerator for 2-4 hours.
- Combine water with mirin, brown sugar, rice wine vinegar, honey, and fish sauce. Let mixture stand for 10 minutes.
- Heat oil in a skillet. Place 5 ribs into skillet and brown on all sides, about 2-3 minutes total. Remove and place them onto a clean plate. Repeat the process until all the ribs are browned.
- Add braising liquid to a large pot and bring to a simmer. Add ribs, cover, and cook over medium-low heat for 20 minutes.
- Remove lid and continue cooking for an additional 20-25 minutes until braising liquid is thick and caramelized. Turn ribs every 8-10 minutes to coat evenly.
- Once cooked through (internal temperature between 175-180 degrees F.), remove ribs from the pot and place them onto a serving dish. Spoon the remaining sauce onto ribs and garnish with chopped green onion.
