Crispy Sweet and Sour Pork

Sweet and sour pork is by far one of my favorite dishes to make. I absolutely love the tangyness of the sauce, combined with the crunch breading of the batter, and the juiciness of the pork rib on the inside.  Getting it for takeout is a pain for me because usually the breading will be softened after being transported in a takeout container. That is why I decided to try make it myself, and I  have to say, it is so much better! Making this spare ribs fresh from the wok to table is unlike anything you’ve ever tasted! My husband aka Sauce Man loves this recipe and I hope you do too! I’d love to hear if you made this recipe in the comments below! 

Pork Spare Ribs

When you buy spareribs, look for the St. Louis spare ribs with about 80/20 meat to fat ratio. The pork will taste super juicy and tender. I love buying mine at Costco!

Shao Xing

 Shaoxing wine is a cooking wine used in most chinese dishes. It is best for marinating meats like chicken and beef. It is labeled cooking wine on the bottle, which is what it is primarily used for.      

Black Glutinous Rice Vinegar

     I made this dish a lot of times and used a lot of different vinegars but i would have to say the best vinegar to use is this black glutinous rice vinegar. I use the black glutinous rice vinegar from Patchun.  There’s a depth to this vinegar that compliments the rock sugar so well that when you taste the sauce, it has the perfect amount of sour acidity to it. 

Equipment

• Wok

Ingredients

• 2 lbs of spareribs
• 1 tbsp siu hing
• ½ tbsp oil
• 2 cloves of garlic, sliced
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 cups for oil (frying)
• 2 eggs

Breading

• ½ cup of flour
• 4 tbsp potato starch (corn starch is a suitable substitution)
• ⅔ tsp baking powder

Sauce

• 1 cup black vinegar
• 1 cup water
• ½ cup 1 tbsp rock sugar
• 1 cup pineapples (canned)

Instructions

1. Carve spare ribs in between the bones and chop into 1-inch increments. Parboil pork in a pot of water for 2 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water.
2. Marinate pork with siu hing, oil, garlic, and salt. In a mixing bowl, combine flour, potato starch, baking powder, and mix. 
3. In a separate bowl, crack eggs and whisk until there are no egg whites. 
4. Start breading the spareribs one at a time. Dredge sparerib through egg wash and then coat in flour evenly. Dust off excess flour to avoid clumps. 
5. In a deep pot, add in 2 cups of vegetable oil on medium heat. 
6. Test to see if oil is ready for frying by sticking a chopstick in the oil. If bubbles begin to form around the chopstick, it is ready. Deep fry spare ribs in batches and do not overcrowd or the spareribs will stick. Fry spare ribs for about 7-8 minutes until golden brown. 
7. After deep frying, reserve 2 tablespoons of frying oil to coat a wok on medium heat. Once oil is warm, add in black vinegar, water, and ½ cup and 1 tbsp of rock sugar.
8. Once sugar has melted, let sauce dilute to a thicker sauce for about 10 minutes. Once sauce reduces to a thicker texture, add in spareribs and pineapple chunks. 
9. Carefully fold spareribs in with the sauce. The best way to coat is to lift up the wok and toss spareribs with sauce.
10. Serve immediately and enjoy!

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