Soy Braised Spare Ribs

By Todd Martin May 8, 2024 4 mins read 216 Views

These Japanese-style soy-braised spare ribs are tender, flavorful, and the perfect dish to serve for any occasion. The sauce is caramelized during the braising process, resulting in a rich, mildly sweet, umami flavor. Use hoisin sauce instead of black bean paste for a sweeter sauce.

Although this pork rib recipe wasn’t cooked on the grill, it was still incredibly delicious! These soy-braised spare ribs take comfort food to a whole new level of sophistication. The flavor is a perfect balance of sweet and umami, which creates a unique and complex taste that is truly out of this world.

Recipe ingredients

Pork spare ribs-cut into individual ribs before marinating, see below for instructions ( can use Baby Back Ribs if you choose).
Black bean paste OR Hoisin Sauce (see above for details)
Soy sauce (dark soy sauce preferred)
Worcestershire sauce
Fish sauce-a savory sauce made of fermented fish, it’s subtle, smoky, and delicious in sauces
Mirin-a Japanese cooking wine (sub with dry sherry)
Brown Sugar
Green onions (scallions)
Garlic
Honey
Rice wine vinegar
A large pot or Dutch oven

Trimming Pork Spare Ribs — Removing membrane (silver skin)

Individual-ribs — Removing membrane (silver skin)

Prepping the ribs

Blot the back of the ribs dry with paper towel. The butter knife is probably the easiest tool for this job. Use it to separate the end of the membrane away from the bone as shown above. Have an extra paper towel ready, to help grab ahold of the loosed piece of silver skin.
Now, gently pull it away from the bone section. Don’t worry if it breaks, just keep going and get to the rest as it comes. It can take a few tries to perfect this technique.
After you have completed this step, cut rack into individual ribs. Doing this will ensure that both the marinade and the braising liquid penetrates the meat fully. It also reduces the cooking time.

How to Make Soy Braised Spare Ribs

Place ribs into a resealable plastic bag. Use two bags if needed.
Make the marinade. Combine marinade mixture and pour over ribs. Let the air out of the bag and massage ribs to work the marinade.
Marinate ribs in the refrigerator for 2-4 hours.
Make the braising liquid. Combine water with mirin, brown sugar, rice wine vinegar, honey, and fish sauce. Let mixture stand for 10 minutes.
Brown the ribs. Heat oil in a skillet. Place 5 ribs into skillet and brown on all sides, about 2-3 minutes total. Remove and place them onto a clean plate. Repeat the process until all the ribs are browned.
Braise the ribs. Add braising liquid to a large pot and bring to a simmer. Add ribs, cover, and cook over medium-low heat for 20 minutes. Remove lid and continue cooking for an additional 20-25 minutes until braising liquid is thick and caramelized. Turn ribs every 8-10 minutes to coat evenly.
Serving. Once cooked through (internal temperature between 175-180 degrees F.), remove soy braised spare ribs from the pot and place them onto a serving dish. Spoon the remaining sauce onto ribs and garnish with chopped green onion.

Side dishes

Serve these soy braised spare ribs with rice, noodles, a side salad, or steamed vegetables. You can also serve these delicious Japanese style ribs as an appetizer.

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