American Chinese / Cantonese Recipe

Peking Spare Ribs

Peking spare ribs are pork ribs coated in a glossy sweet-tangy sauce related to Peking-style pork chop preparations.

Recipe at a glance

PurposeHigh-frequency Chinese restaurant menu dish
Cuisine or formatAmerican Chinese / Cantonese
Menu variation ruleProtein may be adjusted without creating a separate recipe family.

Ingredients

  • 2 lb pork spare ribs or riblets
  • 1/2 cup cornstarch, optional
  • Oil for frying or searing
  • 2 tablespoons ketchup
  • 2 tablespoons black vinegar or rice vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, optional
  • Garlic
  • Scallions

Method

  1. Cut ribs into manageable pieces.
  2. Coat lightly with starch if frying.
  3. Fry, roast, or sear until cooked.
  4. Simmer ketchup, vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, optional Worcestershire, and garlic.
  5. Toss ribs in sauce.
  6. Reduce until glossy.
  7. Finish with scallions.

Menu-literacy notes

  • Peking spare ribs and Peking-style pork chop are closely related sauce families.
  • The sauce is sweet, tangy, and glossy.
  • Contains pork and often wheat or shared fryer risk.

Variations and substitutions

  • For chicken, beef, shrimp, pork, tofu, or mixed seafood variants, keep the same sauce logic and adjust the cooking time for the protein.
  • For allergies or religious dietary needs, check sauces, broth, wrappers, cooking wine, and shared wok or fryer use.
  • For takeout-style dishes, sauce texture matters: the sauce should coat the food rather than become a thin soup.

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