Chinese Cola Ribs

Kele Paigu (可乐排骨)

Delicious bites of pork rib are cooked in a sticky, sweet cola-flavored sauce infused with ginger, garlic, and scallion – add a light sprinkling of sesame seeds and this simple dish is ready to party.

This was the first cola braised dish that I ever tried in China. I was visiting my father-in-law in Guangzhou, and when we arrived at his apartment, he set out a feast of Sichuan dishes and among them were these incredible ribs - sweet, aromatic, and tender.

Chinese Cola Ribs are not difficult to make. While a slight step up in difficulty from Chinese Cola Wings (可乐鸡翅), the overall process is quite similar: sauté, stir-fry, and then braise. There is, however, one additional step. The ribs are first boiled with Chinese cooking wine in order to remove the gamey unpleasant flavor from the bones. A process that's quite easy to complete. You can even add some aromatics like scallion, ginger, and Sichuan pepper if you'd like to perfume the water while boiling the ribs.

Rib bones are quite hard, so a good cleaver and a thick, solid cutting board are a must! If, however, your cutting skills are a bit lacking, most butchers can easily cut this for you, allowing you to focus solely on the cooking process. I'd recommend having a butcher cut this simply for the fact that it will save you time when preparing the dish.

The key flavors of Cola Ribs are quite obvious: cola and soy sauce. Naturally, the flavor of the cola will be quite important. I would recommend sticking with Coca-Cola as the standard. Other colas might be too sweet or not sweet enough. Aside from cola and soy sauce, the core flavors come from aromatics like ginger, garlic, and scallion. These aromatics are quite flexible and you can experiment with spicy flavors from red chilies or fragrant flavors such as those from Chinese Five Spice Powder (五香粉) or those from dried spices like star anise and bay leaves.

Prep Time: 15 min

Cook Time: 35 min

Total Time: 50 min

Serving: 2 - 4 people

Ingredients

500 grams Pork Spare Ribs

Aromatics
3 Dried Red Chilies (Optional)
3-inch block of Ginger
3 cloves of Garlic

2 Tbsp. Shaoxing Rice Wine

1/4 cup of Peanut Oil

Sauces and Seasonings
16 oz (500 ml) Coke
3 Tbsp. Light Soy Sauce
1/2 tsp. Dark Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp White Sugar
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp MSG

2 green stalks of Scallion (香葱; Tied in a Knot)

Garnish
1 tsp Sesame Seeds

Directions

1.) Using a sharp cleaver, prepare the Pork Ribs, placing the chopped pieces into a bowl:

• Cut off the solid block of the spine at the top the Ribs if present. Set aside to use in soups.
• Separate the ribs by slicing down the length of each bone. Leave plenty of meat on each bone; the cut should be made in the center of the meat so that the meat is evenly distributed on each bone.
• Finally, chop the Ribs into 1-inch to 1 1/2-inch pieces.

2.) Prepare a bowl for the Aromatics:

• Snip the Chilies in half.
• Slice the Ginger into discs.
• Peel and smash the Garlic but leave them in large cloves.

3.) Add the Rib pieces to a wok and fill the wok half full with water. Add the Shaoxing Rice Wine and heat on high until boiling. As the water boils, skim off any scum that rises to the surface.

4.) Once the water is mostly clear, remove the Ribs with a wire strainer and drain the wok. Rinse off the Ribs to ensure no scum remains on them and allow the Ribs to drip dry while preparing the wok for stir-frying.

5.) Season the wok, add about 1/4 cup of Peanut Oil, and heat the Oil until super-hot. Add the Pork pieces and stir-fry for about 2 minutes to evaporate any excess moisture.

6.) Add the bowl of Aromatics and continue to stir-fry another 1 to 2 minutes until richly fragrant.

7.) Pour in a bottle of Coke along with the remaining Sauces and Seasonings (Light Soy Sauce, Dark Soy Sauce, White Sugar, Salt, and MSG) and add the Scallion.

8.) Reduce the heat to medium and gently boil for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has reduced by at least half.

9.) After 15 minutes, remove the Garlic, Ginger, Dried Red Chilies, and Scallion. Continue to boil the Ribs for another 10 to 15 minutes, stirring increasingly often, until the sauce has reduced to an extremely thick molasses-like syrup.

(Be careful not to burn the sauce! It’s quite easy to burn, so as it’s thickening keep the Ribs moving. Once it has reached the thickness of barbecue sauce, cut off the heat and continue to stir while the sauce finishes thickening. Most of the sauce should cling to the Ribs and little should be left in the wok).

10.) Remove the Cola Ribs using a large spoon and arrange them on a serving plate. Finally, Garnish with Sesame Seeds and serve immediately.

 

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