A popular appetizer from Hunan province in China, sweet-and-sour spare ribs, or tang cu pai gu, are not that difficult to make, and are incredible with the right ingredients.

We used a recipe from a book by Fuchia Dunlop – “Revolutionary Chinese Cookbook, Recipes from Hunan Province”. We followed the recipe exactly except for adding a few pieces of star anise, using Baoning vinegar instead of Chinkiang vinegar and adding couple of tablespoons of white vinegar.

Ingredients we used:

• ginger
• scallion – organic
• garlic – organic
• ground pork – Kurobuta spare ribs from D’Artagnan
• Shaoxing wine – Pagoda 8 year aged from Posharpstore
• soy sauce – Zhongba handcrated soy sauce from The Mala Market
• sugar –
• Hand-made Baoning vinegar aged 10 years from The Mala Market
• White vinegar
• star anise – from World Spice Merchants
• dried chili pods
• peanut oil

Tips:

Test the ribs so they are don’t fry too long, they may not need the full five minutes.

The ribs are often made ahead and served at room temperature.

Photos by Tony Fitzgerald