The Chinese BBQ Spare Ribs My Dad's Made 100,000 Times
Why this recipe
Most chinese bbq spare ribs recipes online are tested only a handful of times. My dad used to make this dish multiple times a day, every day, for 60+ years and can make this in his sleep.
I know you'll love it as much as our community does! This recipe has over 286K views, 5.3K likes on YouTube.
What is siu paai gwat (燒排骨)?
The name of this dish is siu paai gwat. Siu means “roast”, and just like caa siu or siu juk (or Crispy Pork Belly), BBQ Spare Ribs belongs to the epic family of siu mei, which means Cantonese-style roasted meats. Traditionally, these meats were painstakingly roasted on spits and open fires, but nowadays, it’s impossible to walk through a Chinatown without running into a Chinese BBQ shop with dozens of delicious roasted meats hanging by the window.
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Ingredients
The magic of five spice powder
For those of you unfamiliar with five spice powder, or ng hoeng fan in Cantonese, it is an umbrella for the popular Chinese blends of spices that usually consist of cinnamon, fennel seeds, star anise, cloves, and peppers.
The number five doesn't necessarily literally mean that it has five ingredients as some blends use fewer spices and some blends use way more than five ingredients.
Five spice powder is actually a nod to the five traditional Chinese elements: earth, fire, water, wood, and metal. It's also a balancing act of the five traditional flavors of Chinese cuisine: salty, spicy, sour, sweet, and bitter.
How to select the perfect meat
You'll need to take a few things into consideration when buying meat for this recipe - the cut of meat and freshness.
There are cuts that have a lot of meat cut away. Some cuts have a lot of meat left on them. There are two types of spare ribs: some are narrower with thicker meat, some are wider with thinner meat. It's up to you what you like but for BBQ, Daddy Lau suggests that you get a wider cut.
When handling the meat, move it around a little. If it's not full of liquid, then it's fresh. If there's a lot of liquid, then it's been sitting out for a while.
Equipment you'll need
To make this, you’ll need a few things:
- a baking pan + baking rack - https://amzn.to/37OrAKs
- aluminum foil - https://amzn.to/2NwJxX3
- basting brush - https://amzn.to/3suYDew
This is optional, but you might also want to use a meat thermometer that allows you to monitor the internal temperature of the pork as it’s cooking.
My dad literally chuckled at me when I asked him about this and said, “we don’t cook this way,” but since I haven’t yet acquired my dad’s intuition in the kitchen, I like to use these to whenever I cook big pieces of meat.
Instructions
Prepare the spare ribs
Create cuts between the bones and along the thick side of the ribs (3 lb) so that the meat takes on the flavors better and that it cooks faster.
Remove moisture from the ribs by dabbing both sides with a paper towel - this allows the ribs to take on the flavors better too.
Rub seasoning
Rub garlic salt (1 tbsp) onto the ribs. Make sure to cover all surfaces on both sides. Pay special attention to the slits that you made earlier.
Create marinade
In a medium bowl, mix sugar (1 tbsp), salt (2 tsp), white pepper (1 tsp), ketchup (2 tbsp), cooking wine (2 tbsp), five-spice powder (0.50 tsp), and red food coloring (0.25 tsp) (which is optional). Set aside for the next step.
Marinate and refrigerate ribs
Place ribs in a tray lined with a plastic sheet and spread the marinade thinly onto both sides of the ribs. Wrap ribs with the plastic sheet when finished.
Refrigerate for a minimum of 4 hours and a maximum of 8 hours. Daddy Lau recommends marinating in the morning and cooking it at night after you're finished with work.
Note that the meat will get tough if you let it marinate for too long.
Prepare glaze
For the glaze, you can use maltose or honey (2 tbsp). Brush it over the spare ribs and they'll glisten and taste great.
If you don't have either of those, you can combine 2 tbsp sugar and 2 tbsp water in a small bowl. Microwave for one minute, stir the mixture, and microwave for another one minute. Make sure to mix the syrup in between otherwise the sugar may burn.
You'll know when it's done when the syrup sticks to the spoon. When it cools down, it'll thicken up more. BE CAREFUL AS THE SYRUP IS VERY HOT AT FIRST!
Rest and bake ribs
Remove ribs from the refrigerator and allow them to rest for about an hour. Preheat the oven to 400° F, which is 204° C.
Line the baking pan with foil, put a baking tray above the foil, and bake the ribs for 30-35 minutes.
Do not cover the meat as it will take longer to cook and you won't get any charring on the surface.
Glaze ribs
After 30-35 minutes of baking, remove the ribs and brush your glaze of choice onto them.
Put the ribs back into the oven for 10 more minutes.
Rest ribs, cut, taste test & plate
Once the ribs have been baking for about 45 minutes in total, take it out and let it rest for 10 minutes.
If you cut into it while it's still hot, the juice will all come out.
Taste to adjust the flavors and plate once it's to your taste! This is usually served on a large serving plate and everyone can take the amount they want.
Made with love ❤️
We started Made With Lau to celebrate Cantonese culture and honor the legacy of our wonderful parents, Jenny and Chung Sun Lau.
Our hope is that these recipes and stories help you spread the joy, love, and nostalgia that I felt growing up.
