Sweet and Sour Pork Ribs
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Published October 27, 2026
10 ingredients
by WokBite Kitchen
20min Prep
60min Cook
80min Total
4Servings
EasyDifficulty
Sweet and sour pork ribs — tang cu pai gu — turn up at every family table in China, and they are the dish most often ruined by a sauce that is either too sharp or too sweet. The fix is a fixed ratio: one spoon of Shaoxing wine, two of light soy, three of black vinegar, four of sugar, five of water. Once you know the ratio you can cook this without a recipe.
Two details do the real work. The ribs are blanched starting from cold water, which pulls out the blood and leaves the sauce clean instead of muddy. Then they are pan-fried until the edges are golden before any liquid goes in — that browning is where the depth comes from. The braise is short, forty minutes at most, so the meat stays firm enough to bite.
Ingredients
Tap an item to tick it off- 600 g pork ribs, cut into 4 cm pieces
- 3 tbsp black rice vinegar
- 3–4 slices fresh ginger
- 4 tbsp caster sugar
- 1 spring onion, knotted
- 1 tbsp cooking oil
- 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine, divided
- 1 g toasted white sesame seeds
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 g salt
Method
1
Lay out everything first: ribs, ginger, spring onion, wine, soy, vinegar, sugar and a jug of hot water. Once the wok is hot there is no time to go looking for a bottle.
2
Rinse the ribs, then soak them in cold water with 1 tbsp of the Shaoxing wine for 10–15 minutes to draw out the blood. Drain well — this is what keeps the finished sauce clean-tasting.
3
Put the ribs in a pot, cover with cold water, and add the ginger, the knotted spring onion and the remaining 1 tbsp of wine. Starting from cold water is what makes the impurities come out rather than set.
4
Bring to a rolling boil, skim off the grey foam that rises, then boil for another 3–4 minutes. Skim properly here and you will not need to strain anything later.
5
Lift the ribs out and rinse them under warm water — cold water would tighten the meat — then drain and pat dry so they brown instead of steam.
6
Mix the sauce in a bowl: 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine, 2 tbsp light soy, 3 tbsp black vinegar, 4 tbsp sugar and 5 tbsp water. For a deeper red gloss, stir in ½ tbsp dark soy.
7
Heat a thin film of oil in a wok over medium heat until it shimmers. Add the ribs in one layer and fry, turning, until the surfaces are golden and slightly crisp at the edges — about 6–8 minutes. Do not rush this with high heat.
8
Pour the sauce mixture over the browned ribs.
9
Toss to coat every piece evenly and let it bubble for a minute so the sugar starts to dissolve.
10
Add hot water until the ribs are just covered. Bring back to a boil, then drop the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30–40 minutes, until a skewer goes in with a little resistance left.
11
Uncover, turn the heat to high and reduce, stirring constantly so the sugar does not catch. When the sauce coats the back of a spoon and clings to each rib, take the pan off the heat. A final splash of vinegar here brings the aroma back up.
12
Taste, correct the salt with a pinch at most, then plate and scatter over the sesame seeds and sliced green spring onion.
Why this worksThe 1-2-3-4-5 ratio is the whole recipe: one part wine, two soy, three vinegar, four sugar, five water. Blanching from cold water and browning before the liquid goes in are what separate this from a plate of sweet meat in thin sauce. If the glaze turns grainy, a splash of hot water and a stir brings it back.
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