Honey Garlic Pork Ribs 蒜子蜜汁骨 is a Cantonese style dish. There are many different ways of making it. You can pan-sear and then lightly braise them. Or you can bake them and then there's my favorite...deep-fried and then tossed in the wok. For me, I love crispy foods, so I’ve got to deep-fry them! And of course this recipe I’m sharing with you requires deep-frying. It’s soooo good! I could eat 2 pounds on my own!
Well, I have no idea how this dish came about. Archeologists confirm that honey was used to sweeten wine in China over 4000 years ago. But it seems that honey was mainly used in drinks and sweets in China and less in savoury dishes. Even Cantonese Char Siu was first sweetened with maltose and not honey.
Some say that Honey Garlic Pork Ribs 蒜子蜜汁骨, the crispy kind, is a Vancouver creation. And in recent years, you can find this dish, Vancouver style, in China as well. We can’t be sure if it was created in Vancouver, but most people will agree that crispy, moist and tender ribs smothered in garlic and honey is as good as it gets! And as friendly Canadians, it’s only natural to share this delicious invention with the world!
My Honey Garlic Pork Ribs 蒜子蜜汁骨 is super easy to follow and make. This dish, even on my first try, got into our family's top 10. I make a lot of dishes in my kitchen, so getting into the top 10 is a big thing! And I'm sure you'll be very happy at how such a delicious dish could be so easy. Perhaps some of you are a bit apprehensive about deep-frying. If you’re concerned for health reasons, then you may want to stick with the pan-fried version. You can also try using an air-fryer, but it’s not going to be the same. However, if you’re just worried about how to deep-fry in general, let me share with you how I do it.
I don’t have a deep-fryer; I just use my wok. The wok is a good deep-fryer because it’s narrow on the bottom and wide on top. You’ll be able to fry larger quantities using less oil. I also use a infrared thermometer so that I can instantly know the temperature of the oil. This is crucial for getting the perfect texture and colour. My meat thermometer also ensures that I don’t overcook.
I will generally use the oil twice for deep-frying and then I save it for my regular cooking. This is where my oil keeper pot comes in handy. It has a sieve on top, so after deep-frying, I pour the oil in it, it filters the oil. It has a spout and a lid so I can easily store and pour it when I need to use oil. Sometimes I don’t want to reuse the oil because I fried something fishy or there’s too much sediment. I’d just pour it back into the plastic oil container and I take it to our local recycling centre where they take oil and grease. Never pour liquid oil in your sink, it can still create clogs even if it’s not solid. Happy frying!
If you're interested, here are the links to the wok, infrared thermometer, meat thermometer and oil keeper pot:
Joyce Chen , Classic Series Carbon Steel Wok Set, 4-Piece, 14-Inch, Charcoal
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AstroAI Digital Laser Infrared Thermometer ( Not for Human) , 380 Non-Contact Thermomètre Infrarouge, Temperature Gun with Range of -58℉~716℉ (-50℃～380℃), Red, Cadeau
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ThermoPro TP03 Digital Instant Read Meat Thermometer Kitchen Cooking Food Candy Thermometer with Backlight and Magnet for Oil Deep Fry BBQ Grill Smoker Thermometer
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YOPAY Bacon Grease Container with Fine Mesh Strainer, 1.7L/ Almost 7 Full Cups Iron Cooking Oil Can and Bacon Grease Catcher for Fat, Frying Oil, with a Removable Coaster Tray
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Honey Garlic Pork Ribs 蒜子蜜汁骨
Ingredients
- 1.2 kg Pork riblets
- 1 bulb Garlic , minced (use less if you don’t love garlic)
- 5 tbsp Honey
- 1 tsp White sesame seeds
- 1 tsp Sugar
- ½ tsp Salt
- 2 tbsp Oil
- 1 L Oil for deep-frying
Ingredients for Marinade:
- 2 tbsp Light soy sauce
- 2 tsp Sugar
- 1 tsp Garlic powder
- ½ c Cornstarch (or enough to coat the ribs completely)
Instructions
- Marinate ribs with 2 tbsp light soy sauce, 2 tsp sugar and 1 tsp garlic powder. Mix well and set aside for 30 minutes
- Mince garlic and set aside
- Add cornstarch to the ribs and completely coat each piece. The white cornstarch will turn to a brownish colour from the soy sauce and will be pasty.
- Prepare oil for deep-frying. Heat oil to 160˚C or 325˚F. Place the ribs into the oil. Fry for 3-5 minutes or until done. Do not overcrowd.
- Remove ribs from oil
- Heat the oil to 200˚C or 400˚F. Put the ribs back in the oil until they turn golden colour. Approx 1 minute. Remove from oil.
You should be able to feel that the ribs have a hard outer shell - In a wok, heat to medium-high heat. Add 2 tbsp oil. Add garlic. Fry until lightly golden
- Add 1 tsp sugar, ½ tsp salt and 5 tbsp honey to the wok. Mix well
- Add ribs to the wok. Stir and mix until all ribs are completely covered with the honey and garlic
- Place ribs on serving plate and sprinkle with sesame seeds
- Serve
Looks lovely! Is corn starch the same as corn flour?
Hi Ting, corn starch is not the same as corn flour. Starch is a carbohydrate extracted from a grain and flour is the ground grain. So, you can't substitute corn starch with corn flour. But you can substitute corn starch with potato starch, arrowroot powder (this is both a flour and a starch) and tapioca starch. However, there will be slight differences in consistency. From personal experience, if you want to a substitute, the best one is arrowroot powder. Happy cooking!
The best honey garlic spareribs we've come across. Made it twice and for the second time I doubled the recipe for sunday lunch and my in-laws loved it.
Hi June, I also love these too! You can use the recipe for chicken wings, cauliflower and brussel sprouts too!
Simple and easy to make. I air fried the ribs instead of cooking them in oil, still worked perfectly.
Hi Joyce, Thank you for your review! I haven't tried using the air fryer for this recipe, but I will now! Thanks for sharing and happy cooking!