Chinese Five-Spice Spare Ribs

Ingredients for  4  Servings

• For the Ribs

• 750g

  Pork spareribs
• 600ml

  Groundnut (peanut) oil
• For the Marinade

• 1 tbsp

  Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
• 1 tbsp

  Light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp

  Chinese rice vinegar or cider vinegar
• 2 tsp

  Sesame oil
• 1 tbsp

  Cornflour
• For the Sauce

• 2 tbsp

  Finely chopped garlic
• 2 tsp

  Five-spice powder
• 3 tbsp

  Finely chopped spring onions
• 3 tbsp

  Granulated sugar
• 3 tbsp

  Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
• 150ml

  Chicken stock
• 1½ tbsp

  Chicken stock
• 2 tbsp

  Dried grated orange peel
• 85ml

  Chinese rice vinegar or cider vinegar

Approximate Times

• Preparation :

  30 minutes to 1 hour
• Cooking :

  30 minutes to 1 hour

Method

1. Separate the spareribs into individual ribs and then into chunks which are approximately 7½cm long.
2. Mix the marinade ingredients together in a bowl and steep the spareribs in the marinade for about 25 minutes at room temperature. Remove the spareribs from the marinade with a slotted spoon.
3. Heat the oil in a deep-fat fryer or large wok. When the oil is very hot and slightly smoking, slowly brown the marinated spareribs in several batches until they are brown. Drain each cooked batch on kitchen paper. (Leave the cooking oil to cool. Strain it through a filter if you want to re-use it when cooking pork.)
4. Put the sauce ingredients into a clean wok or frying pan.
5. Bring the sauce to the boil and then reduce the heat. Add the spareribs, cover and simmer gently for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. If necessary, add a little water to the sauce to prevent the spareribs from drying up. Skim off any surface fat, turn onto a warm serving plate and serve at once.