Sticky Asian Pork Ribs Recipe for Chinese Style Baked Ribs with Sesame

This sticky Asian pork ribs recipe makes deliciously addictive Chinese style baked ribs. Brining the pork helps tenderise the meat and keeps the pork succulent, while also making the cooking time over a grill quite short. Serve the ribs with stir-fried greens and rice or alongside your favourite barbecued meats and salads.

Our sticky Asian pork ribs recipe will make you finger-licking ribs of moist pork meat that cook on a grill in no time. Plates of pork ribs are fantastic for feeding a crowd – whether it’s a casual get-together, game day gathering or backyard barbecue.

Here in Southeast Asia we often eat the pork ribs simply with stir-fried morning glory and steamed rice but typically they’d form one of an array of dishes as part of a shared family-style meal. You could serve the ribs with fried spring rolls, some dumplings, fried rice, Chinese leafy greens, and a stir-fry or braise, such as Cambodian cashew chicken or Vietnamese braised pork belly.

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Now let me tell you more about this sticky Asian pork ribs recipe.

Sticky Asian Pork Ribs Recipe for Chinese Style Baked Ribs with Sesame

This sticky Asian pork ribs recipe makes one of our favourite pork dishes, Chinese style baked pork ribs which I brine before rubbing the ribs thoroughly in a marinade or rib rub and then baking them for 30 minutes. That’s it.

There are recipes out there for sticky Asian baked pork ribs where the ribs are cooked to carbon, but here in Southeast Asia, ribs generally aren’t cooked that way as an oven has long been a luxury for the rich for the most post and ribs are typically grilled.

Just a few tips to making this sticky Asian pork ribs recipe.

Tips to Making this Sticky Asian Pork Ribs Recipe

I only have a few tips to making this sticky pork ribs recipe as they’re quick and easy and grill in no time. But first I brine the ribs for at least an hour. Brining helps tenderise the pork, making cooking times over a grill quite short.

Here in Cambodia, street stall grill kitchens often cook off the ribs, chops and sausages and leave them in a warm spot near the grill and when a customer places an order, the cook – or sometimes the customer – places the items back on the charcoal grill to reheat them a little.

With this sticky Asian pork ribs recipe, even though we’re using an oven, we’re replicating this faster cooking method. You can cook these ribs in half an hour and they will fall apart but still be moist and packed with flavour.

Even though there’s not much chance of undercooking these ribs, we always use a meat thermometer to check doneness.

One little tip I’ve taken from those Cambodian street stalls that I walk past every day is that you can reheat these ribs over charcoal. For a backyard barbecue, you could do the initial cooking in the oven and then finish them off on the grill, periodically basting with the sauce.

A quick note on my use of Korean chillies in our sticky pork ribs recipe instead of a generic chilli powder or chilli flakes. I use these Korean chillies – a key ingredient in gojujang, the Korean fermented hot chilli paste – in a lot of Asian dishes, not only Korean dishes. By the way, I just used gojujang in the Korean fried chicken recipe we recently shared.

Along with Sichuan chillies from China, Korean chillies have a unique aroma and taste and they really give these sticky pork ribs a real pop of flavour. You can find Korean chillies in a good Asian supermarket or supermarkets with a good Korean section. I highly recommend you snap them up if you see them.

Sticky Asian Pork Ribs Recipe

Sticky Asian Pork Ribs Recipe for Chinese Style Baked Ribs with Sesame

AuthorTerence Carter

This sticky Asian pork ribs recipe makes deliciously addictive Chinese style baked ribs. A mixture of brining and marinating the pork helps tenderise the pork and keeps the meat moist, while also making the cooking time over a grill quite short. Serve the ribs with stir-fried greens and rice or alongside your favourite barbecued meats and salads

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Course Sharing

Cuisine Chinese

Servings made with recipeServings 4 Sharing

Calories 794 kcal

Equipment

Baking Tray

Baking Paper

Ingredients

 

MetricUS Customary

 

1x2x3x

• 1 kg pork ribs

Brine

• 1 tbsp salt - fine
• 1 tbsp sugar - granulated

Rib Rub

• ½ cup brown sugar
• ½ tsp kosher salt
• ½ tsp Korean chilli powder
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• ½ tsp onion powder
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• ¼ tsp cumin

Sticky Sauce

• ½ cup soy sauce
• ⅓ cup brown sugar
• ¼ cup honey
• 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp ginger - fresh, grated
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 2 cloves garlic - minced
• ¼ tsp crushed Korean chilli flakes

Garnish

• White sesame seeds
• Spring onions - or chives, finely chopped

Instructions

 

• To make the brine, place the salt and sugar into a pot of boiling water and stir until dissolved. When the brining liquid has cooled, add it to the pork ribs and brine for at least one hour.
• When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 180°C (355°F).
• Make the rib rub by combining all the ingredients in a bowl. Add the pork ribs and press the rub ingredients into the ribs. You want as much of the rub to stick to the top and sides of the meat.
• Place the ribs on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake for 20 minutes then check the internal temperature of the ribs with a thermometer. You want them to reach 63°C (145°F).
• While the ribs are baking, make the sauce by combining all the ingredients in a small saucepan over low heat until it starts to bubble. Let the sauce thicken off the heat.
• When the ribs are up to temperature, turn the oven on to the top element only (broiler). Brush the ribs with the sticky sauce and let them cook until the top of the ribs look caramelised – usually just a couple minutes. At this stage you can brush the ribs with more sauce and repeat the process or place the ribs on a serving platter and brush with more sauce, then sprinkle with sesame seeds and sliced spring onions or chives.

Nutrition

Calories: 794kcalCarbohydrates: 72gProtein: 31gFat: 43gSaturated Fat: 13gPolyunsaturated Fat: 8gMonounsaturated Fat: 16gTrans Fat: 0.4gCholesterol: 140mgSodium: 3940mgPotassium: 601mgFiber: 1gSugar: 69gVitamin A: 239IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 83mgIron: 3mg

Please do let us know in the comments below if you make this sticky Asian pork ribs recipe as we’d love to hear how it turned out for you.