Sticky Chinese Spare Ribs

Pork ribs are slow-baked under foil until the meat gives way, then basted in a thick hoisin, honey and five-spice glaze under high heat until lacquered and sticky. It is the classic Chinese takeaway starter, and the oven does almost all of the work.

Takeaway spare ribs are a two-stage job: cook the pork gently until it is tender, then glaze it hard and fast so the sauce reduces onto the meat rather than sliding off. Do it in that order and you get ribs that are soft inside with a dark, sticky, faintly charred lacquer outside. One tray, one hour, minimal fuss.

Ingredients

• 1.2 kg pork spare ribs — separated into individual ribs; ask the butcher, or cut between the bones with a heavy knife
• 3 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine — dry sherry is a very good supermarket substitute
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce — for colour rather than salt
• 4 tbsp hoisin sauce
• 3 tbsp runny honey
• 2 tbsp tomato ketchup
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar — or cider vinegar
• 4 garlic cloves — finely grated
• 20 g fresh root ginger — peeled and finely grated
• 1 tsp Chinese five-spice
• 0.5 tsp ground white pepper
• 2 tsp toasted sesame oil
• 1 tsp sesame seeds — to finish
• 2 spring onions — finely sliced, to finish

Method

1. Heat the oven to 160C fan / 180C / gas 4. Pat the ribs thoroughly dry with kitchen paper — wet pork steams instead of colouring.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the Shaoxing wine, both soy sauces, hoisin, honey, ketchup, vinegar, garlic, ginger, five-spice, white pepper and sesame oil into a smooth glaze. Spoon off about a third into a small bowl and set aside for later — this is your finishing coat and it must not touch the raw pork.
3. Tip the ribs into the remaining glaze and turn them until every surface is coated. Leave for 15 minutes while the oven comes up to temperature, or cover and marinate in the fridge for up to 24 hours if you have time.
4. Line a deep roasting tin with foil, then baking paper on top. Lay the ribs in a single layer with the marinade, pour in 100 ml water, cover the whole tin tightly with foil and bake for 45 minutes.
5. Remove the foil. The ribs should be tender, with the meat shrunk back from the bone ends and the juices running clear rather than pink; a knife tip should slide into the thickest part with no resistance and the meat should twist easily off the bone. If they still feel firm, re-cover and give them another 10-15 minutes.
6. Pour off the watery tray juices into a small pan and boil hard for 3-4 minutes until syrupy, then stir this back into the reserved glaze. Turn the oven up to 200C fan / 220C / gas 7.
7. Brush the ribs generously with the reserved glaze and return them, uncovered, to the top of the oven for 6-8 minutes. Brush again, turn the ribs, and give them a final 5-7 minutes until the surface is dark, glossy and tacky, with a few blistered, almost-burnt edges. Watch closely at this stage — honey goes from lacquered to bitter in a minute.
8. Rest for 5 minutes so the glaze sets and stops running, then pile onto a warm platter, scatter with sesame seeds and spring onions and serve piping hot with plenty of napkins.

Serve it with

• Egg fried rice
• Prawn crackers and a bowl of sweet chilli sauce
• Crunchy shredded cucumber with rice vinegar
• Salt and pepper chips
• Cold lager or jasmine tea

Why this works

The takeaway trick is holding back a third of the sauce and applying it only in the final blast of heat, so the sugars caramelise into a lacquer instead of scorching over the long bake. Reducing the tray juices back into that glaze adds body and pork flavour, which is what makes it cling to the ribs rather than pooling in the tin.

Common swaps

• No Shaoxing wine — use dry sherry, or 3 tbsp unsalted chicken stock plus a splash of vinegar for an alcohol-free version.
• Hoisin can be replaced with 3 tbsp barbecue sauce plus 1 tbsp extra dark soy and a pinch more five-spice.
• Baby back ribs work well and cook a little faster — check for tenderness at 35 minutes.
• For heat, whisk 1-2 tbsp chilli bean sauce (doubanjiang) or sriracha into the glaze.
• Pork belly strips, cut into chunky fingers, take the same treatment and timings.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Glazing from the start. The honey and hoisin burn black long before the pork is tender — the sweet glaze belongs in the last 15 minutes only.
• Skipping the covered stage. Without foil and a splash of water the ribs dry out and stay chewy rather than turning tender.
• Crowding the tin. Overlapping ribs steam each other, so the glaze never reduces and you get sauce-coated rather than sticky ribs.
• Walking away during the final blast. At 200C fan the difference between glossy and acrid is about 90 seconds.

Storage, freezing & reheating

Storage: Cool within two hours and refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 3 days. The glaze will set firm when cold — that is normal.

Freezing: Freeze cooked, cooled ribs in a sealed bag for up to 3 months. Defrost fully in the fridge overnight before reheating.

Reheating: Spread on a rack over a foil-lined tray and reheat at 200C fan / 220C / gas 7 for 8-10 minutes until the glaze is bubbling and the ribs are piping hot through. Brushing on a teaspoon of honey mixed with a splash of soy just before they go in revives the shine. Avoid the microwave, which turns the lacquer soft and sticky-wet.

Allergen notes: contains Gluten, Soya, Sesame, Sulphites. Always check individual product labels.

Estimated nutrition

Per serving, estimated from typical ingredient values — not a substitute for precise dietary calculation.