Chinese Spareribs Recipe

Glossy, lacquered ribs that are simple to make at home

By
J. Kenji López-Alt
Kenji Lopez Alt
J. Kenji López-Alt
Culinary Consultant
Kenji is the former culinary director for Serious Eats and a current culinary consultant for the site. He is also a New York Times food columnist and the author of The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science.
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Updated September 16, 2022
Roasted Chinese spare ribs on a ceramic plate on a black tile background.

Serious Eats / Julia Estrada

Why It Works

  • The addition of honey in the glaze adds a lacquered shine.
  • Covering the ribs with foil and roasting on a rack set over a baking sheet keeps moisture in but allows fat to drip off.
  • At the end of cooking, the ribs are uncovered and a blast of high heat caramelizes the glaze. 

Chinese-style barbecue spare ribs are a form of siu mei, Cantonese-style roasted meats. You know, the ones that hang out in the windows in Chinatown?

The most common cut of meat used for traditional char siu is thin strips of fatty pork shoulder, but ribs are not uncommon and make perfect finger foods. Just make sure to lick 'em clean unless you want to leave a greasy fingerprint on your cocktail.

The characteristic red hue of char siu comes from red food coloring, which you can add to the marinade if you'd like, but I prefer to go au natural. It's plenty pretty on its own.

Hoisin sauce—a fermented soy bean-based sweet and savory barbecue sauce—is the primary flavoring agent in the marinade. It gets spiked with five-spice powder, a balanced blend of star anise, fennel, cloves, cinnamon, and Sichuan peppercorn. The addition of honey (or more often in professional restaurants, glucose syrup) gives the ribs a shiny, lacquered appearance.

Traditionally, char siu is hung from spikes on the roof of a wood-burning oven and roasted vertically so fat can drip down and baste it as it cooks. At home, roasting them in the oven gets the job done. Start ribs on a rack set in a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil to prevent excessive moisture loss, then finish by removing the foil, cranking up the heat, and letting the sweet marinade caramelize the exterior.

April 2011

After additional testing, this recipe was updated to add language regarding the doneness of the meat and to adjust the cooking time.

Recipe Details

Chinese Spareribs Recipe

Prep 10 mins
Cook 105 mins
Marinating Time 8 hrs
Total 9 hrs 55 mins
Serves 3 to 5 servings
Cook Mode (Keep screen awake)

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon Chinese five-spice powder

  • 1 full rack St. Louis-style spareribs, cut into individual ribs (about 3 pounds total) (see note)

  • 1/2 cup (120g) hoisin sauce

  • 1/4 cup (60ml) Shaoxing wine or dry sherry

  • 2 tablespoons (30ml) soy sauce

  • 1/4 cup (80g) honey

Directions

  1. Sprinkle five-spice powder evenly over ribs and rub until thoroughly coated. Set ribs aside.

    Uncooked ribs covered with spices and laid out on a sheet pan.

    Serious Eats / Julia Estrada

  2. Combine hoisin sauce, shaoxing wine, soy sauce, and honey in a gallon-sized zipper lock bag. Add ribs to bag and mix until evenly coated. Seal bag, transfer to refrigerator, and let ribs marinate at least overnight and up to three nights.

    Ribs and liquid marinade inside of a sealed, zipper-lock bag, on a white stone background.

    Serious Eats / Julia Estrada

  3. When ready to cook, preheat oven to 375°F. Remove ribs from bag, wiping off excess marinade with your fingers (reserve marinade). Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, set a wire rack in it, and spread the ribs evenly over the rack. Cover with aluminum foil and roast until a paring knife can be inserted into the meat with minimal resistance, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Remove foil, brush ribs with marinade, increase heat to 450°F, and roast until charred, glazed, and sticky, about 20 minutes longer, rotating ribs and basting with marinade once more during cooking. Let rest 10 minutes, then serve.

    A collage showing the marinated ribs on a foil-lined sheet pan then being covered with foil, brushed with additional marinade after roasting, and then after roasting a final time.

    Serious Eats / Julia Estrada

Notes

You can add a few drops of red food coloring to the marinade if you want a deeper red hue to your ribs.

Baby back ribs will work just as well as St. Louis-cut.

Chinese five spice powder can be found in the spice section of most major supermarkets. You can make your own by combining 1 teaspoon powdered cinnamon, 2 teaspoons powdered fennel, 1 teaspoon powdered star anise, 1/4 teaspoon powdered cloves, and 1/2 teaspoon powdered Sichuan peppercorns (substitute ginger for Sichuan peppercorns for a different style of five spice).

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Nutrition Facts (per serving)
531Calories
35gFat
32gCarbs
24gProtein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 3 to 5
Amount per serving
Calories531
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 35g44%
Saturated Fat 10g51%
Cholesterol 115mg38%
Sodium 1007mg44%
Total Carbohydrate 32g12%
Dietary Fiber 1g5%
Total Sugars 25g
Protein 24g
Vitamin C 0mg2%
Calcium 50mg4%
Iron 2mg13%
Potassium 432mg9%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

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