This nicely balanced sweet and savoury Asian Pork Riblets is easy to make in one pan. You only need simple pantry ingredients and some love and you can add this recipe to your monthly rotation. This delicious recipe incorporates both Chinese and Korean flavours to create a flavorful dish that everyone in the family will enjoy. Let’s see how we can make this awesome Asian Pork Riblet recipe.
Why make this recipe?
Ribs are such a popular cut of protein in America. It is consumed for almost every major occasion from 4th of July to the Super Bowl. Generally, they are made using the full rack of ribs. They are delicious and covered in an amazing BBQ sauce over a grill or BBQ.
What if I told you, you can make some amazing Asian pork riblets on the stovetop?
You can easily make this on a weeknight if you have a little bit of time and aren’t overtired. Cause you only need your stovetop and a handful of everyday ingredients and sauces that can be easily found in the pantry.
Why we love this recipe and why this is the best way to cook pork riblets
These Asian Pork Riblets taste great and are not overpowering in flavour. It is still flavourful and slightly tender even though they are not slow-cooked or BBQ’ed.
Ribs are known to take longer to make because you want the tender fall of the bone experience. however, only need about 30-40 minutes to cook on the stovetop and you can get a tender pork riblet to enjoy.
Since riblets are ribs that have been cut down from a full rack and are smaller it’s easier to flavour the pork riblets and cook them down to their tender.
What are pork riblets?
Pork riblets are simply pork ribs that have been cut lengthways. Keep in mind that there are two different types of ribs you will see at your local supermarket. I always look for riblets that are cut from the spare ribs. Spare ribs have a decent ratio of meat and fat. They are miniature ribs and are great for little hands to hold on to and eat the tasty meat off.
Here are the different types of ribs that you will commonly see at the supermarket
Baby back ribs: Baby back ribs are attached to the pig’s spine. They are leaner than spare ribs.
Spare ribs: Also known as side ribs – Spare ribs are located on the lower side of the pig. It has more meat and fat and is better at keeping the ribs juicy and tender.
Depending on your preference for the type of meat on the rib spare ribs offer more fat hence will increase the likelihood of making a more tender Asian pork riblet
What is the difference between a rack of ribs and pork riblets?
Pork riblets are not commonly used in American cuisine. Chinese love riblets because it is readily available and it is very common to see riblets used in Chinese dim sum. Every time I go to eat dim sum the steamed spare ribs with black bean sauce is a popular dish we order.
How to cook pork riblets on the stove?
Cooking these over the stovetop for at least 40 minutes is the key to getting the pork ribs tender. I know these may not fall off the bone like BBQ’ed or smoked ribs, but these come pretty close to some amazing ribs in a short amount of time on the stovetop.
Where to buy pork riblets? And how to find the best cuts
Pork riblets are commonly found at Asian supermarkets where the butcher would use the saw to cut it down into 1-1.5 inch thick riblets. There is no extra charge for cutting them lengthways into riblets. I’ve also seen them packaged precut as well. It really depends if there is a big population that would demand for pork riblets.
If you are unable to find it at a local supermarket, check out your local butcher and request for a rack of ribs of your choice and ask them to cut them to 1.5 inches lengthways. When you get home use a sharp knife to cut between the bone.
How to keep pork riblets tender?
The key is to soak and brine the pork riblets for 30 minutes and parboil the riblets. This will loosen the muscle and allow the salt to flavour the meat. Parboiling will also clean all the impurities from the bone. This step is optional, however, I can’t promise that the riblets will come out tender and juicy.
How to serve?
Serve this with a bowl of rice and your favorite green vegetable. I like to serve it with a side of Chinese broccoli or Choy sum.
Alternatively, serve this with Korean banchan and rice. You can also try it with these Gochujang Sesame Noodles it pairs well with this Asian Pork Riblet recipe
Ingredients and variations
Pork riblets: If finding pork riblets is not possible, use pork shoulder and cut them into 2-inch chunks. Pork shoulders work since it has a similar amount of fat so it keeps them moist and tender. If you wish to make this with ribs but can’t find the riblets you can buy a rack of ribs and using a sharp clever cut them in between the ribs and have long ribs. You will need to cook this longer and add more water to cook it longer.
Dark soy sauce: Dark and light soy sauce look similar in the bottle but there is a big difference. Dark soy sauce has a different flavour profile than its sister regular soy sauce. It’s very dark, has a thicker consistency and is sweeter. This is commonly used to darken the colour of sauces or food. This is commonly used in braising recipes. If colour is not an issue and dark soy sauce isn’t available feel free to double up on the regular soya sauce in the dark soy sauces
Regular (light) soy sauce: Regular soy sauce is interchangeable called light soy sauce. It’s the soya sauce every Asian household will have on hand. Compared to the dark soy sauce the regular soy sauce is watery.
Brown sugar: Brown sugar is what I prefer to use for this recipe because it’s a nice dark colour. However, you can use whatever sugar you have available. It does not change the recipe drastically if a different type of sugar is used.
Rice vinegar: Substitute with white vinegar if rice vinegar is not available.
Sesame oil: Omit if don’t have sesame oil, but if you would like to substitute go with a perilla, walnut or peanut oil to add a nutty flavour.
How to Store
If there are leftover Asian pork riblets they store well in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
How to Reheat
Reheat in a pan with water. Depending on how much you are reheating have enough water to cover the bottom of the pan, this will also help keep the Asian pork riblets from drying out. You may need to add more water. Add 1 tablespoon at a time.
How to Freeze
They are also great to freeze for up to 1 month in the freeze. Make sure to use freezer bags to avoid freezer burn.
Did you make these Asian Pork Riblets? I would love to hear from you. Feel free to comment below and I will get back to you!
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Asian Pork Riblets
Ingredients
- 3 lbs pork riblets
- 4 garlic cloves chopped finely
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
- 2 tbsp water
garnish
- green onions chopped
- sesame seeds
Instructions
- Optional step – Brine and parboil the riblets. Soak the pork riblets in water and salt for 30 minutes. Heat up a pot of water and add the riblets and let it boil for 5 minutes to remove all the impurities.
- Heat up a pan on medium-high heat and add oil. Once the oil is hot enough add the garlic and shallots and fry until light golden brown.
- Add the pork riblets and cook until there is a light golden colour on all sides. I do this for about 6-7 minutes. This will vary depending on your stove.
- Add the dark soy sauce, regular soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil, rice vinegar, Chinese cooking wine and water. Turn the heat to simmer on medium-low and cover the pot partially. Cook for roughly 30 minutes and keep stirring every 10 minutes.
- Remove the lid and turn the heat to medium. Keep stirring the pork riblets occasionally so it does not burn. Roughly 10 minutes or until all the liquid has evaporated. The Asian pork riblets will be a nice dark colour with a nice glaze.
- Remove from pot and garnish with green onions and sesame seeds. Serve immediately.
