These salt and pepper ribs are tender and tender with a light, crispy coating. Topped with a zesty salt and pepper topping of chillies and spring onions, they’re an absolute treat!
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These ribs go through a two-stage cooking process. First they are slowly cooked in broth with some flavoring to tenderize the meat until it almost falls apart.
Then we brush the ribs and fry them in a crispy layer with Chinese five spices (the essential ingredient in any Chinese-style salt and pepper recipe).
The result is crispy yet melt-in-the-mouth spareribs that make for an impressive dinner.
📋 Ingredients?
👩🍳PRO TIP I like to cook these ribs slowly on the stove since it’s quicker, but you can also make this first part of the recipe in a slow cooker. See the notes sections of the recipe card for more information.
This is how they look straight out of frying – a deliciously crispy and flavorful topping that gets even better when we add the toppings!
🍽️ What to serve it with
Serve as a main course with rice or as part of a Chinese banquet. How about:
So tender and delicious – I love the vibrant color of the chilies and scallions (scallions) on top.
🍲 More amazing pork recipes
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Ribs with salt and pepper
These salt and pepper ribs are tender and tender with a light, crispy coating. Topped with a zesty salt and pepper topping of chillies and spring onions, they’re an absolute treat!
INSTRUCTIONS
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Place all of the slow-cooked rib ingredients into a large, heavy-bottomed skillet. Bring to a boil, then put a lid on and cook over low heat for hours. Check a few times during the last hour of cooking and top up with a little more water if necessary.
8 meaty pork ribs, 1 liter (4 cups) hot chicken broth, 1 teaspoon chopped ginger, 3 cloves of garlic, 1 tbsp rice wine, 1 tbsp powdered or granulated sugar
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Turn off the stove and drain the pork. The cooking liquid is no longer needed and can be discarded (or used as a great soup stock).
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Allow the ribs to cool for a few minutes so they are cool enough to handle.
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Make the rub by combining salt, pepper, cornstarch, and the five Chinese spices in a large bowl. Add the ribs and dust with the rub.
1½ tsp salt, 1 ½ tsp ground black pepper, 3 heaped tbsp cornmeal (cornstarch in the US), 2 tsp Chinese Five Spice
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Remove the ribs from the bowl and place them on a tray or board.
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There should be some powder left at the bottom of the bowl. Add the cold water and stir until a liquid forms.
2 tbsp cold water
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Brush the ribs with this liquid (this will give the ribs a lighter, crispier coating).
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Heat the oil in a large skillet and add the ribs. Cook on medium-high for 8-10 minutes, turning gently every 2-3 minutes, until ribs are golden brown and crispy.
240 ml (1 cup) oil
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Remove the ribs from the pan and place on a large serving plate.
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In a small skillet, add 1 tablespoon of the oil from the ribs and heat over medium-high.
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Add the spring onions, chilies, salt and garlic to the hot pan. Cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, 1-2 minutes, then sprinkle over the ribs and serve.
Small bunch of spring onions, sliced diagonally, 1 green chilli, 1 red chilli, ½ tsp salt, 2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
✎ Notes
Place all slow-cooked rib ingredients into slow cooker/crockpot and cook 4-5 hours on medium or 6-7 hours on low. Then drain the ribs and continue with the recipe.
Go on:
You can prepare this recipe up to the end of Step 2 (where the pork ribs are slow cooked and then drained). Then cool quickly, cover and refrigerate (up to two days) or freeze.
Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before proceeding to roast the recipe.
Ribs:
Look for meaty pork ribs. Ideally, they should already be sliced so they fit snugly in the pan.
You can usually buy ready-cut ribs or ask your butcher to do this for you.
Nutritional information is approximate per rib, assuming each rib absorbs 1 teaspoon of oil during frying.
Nourishment
Calories: 288kcalCarbohydrates: 5GProtein: 13GFat: 24GSaturated Fatty Acids: 6GPolyunsaturated fat: 5GMonounsaturated fatty acids: 10Gtrans fats: 0.2GCholesterol: 63mgSodium: 906mgPotassium: 265mgFiber: 1GSugar: 2GVitamin A: 149IUVitamin C: 11mgCalcium: 33mgIron: 1mg
This recipe was first published in September 2015. Updated July 2023 with new photos, a few recipe tweaks and some cleaning work.
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