Char Siu-Style Baby Back Ribs

Name: Char Siu-Style Baby Back Ribs
Yield: 4 to 6 Servings
Ingredients: 1/3 cup white sugar; 1/4 cup soy sauce; 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce; 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine or dry sherry; 4 medium garlic cloves, finely grated; 2 tablespoons finely grated fresh ginger; 1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder; Kosher salt and ground black pepper; 1 tablespoon molasses (see headnote); 1 tablespoon honey; 2 2½- to 3-pound racks baby back pork ribs, each cut into 4- or 5-rib sections

FAST: 1½ hours, plus marinating
Slow: 8½ to 9½ hours, plus marinating Active time: 25 minutes

A popular style of Cantonese barbecued meat, char siu means “fork roasted,” a reference to the traditional way it was prepared. Long, thin strips of pork cut from the shoulder or butt were marinated in a sweet, spiced sauce, then suspended from long forks around a fire and basted until deeply glazed. Today, you’ll find variations made with pork belly and even tenderloin, but we use baby back ribs and cook them in an Instant Pot. Pressure cook them quickly or slow cook them for several hours—it’s your choice. Finished with a sticky glaze and broiled in the oven, the ribs are deliciously and satisfyingly salty and sweet. Any type of molasses works, even blackstrap, so use whatever is convenient.

4 to 6

Servings

Tip

Don’t use pork spareribs. They’re larger than baby backs and won’t fit in the Instant Pot; they also require a slightly longer cooking time. Don’t skip the marinating step for the ribs—it infuses the meat with deep, rich flavor.

FAST: 1½ hours, plus marinating
Slow: 8½ to 9½ hours, plus marinating

Active time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

⅓

cup white sugar
¼

cup soy sauce

Directions

01

In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, soy sauce, hoisin, Shaoxing wine, garlic, ginger, five-spice powder and 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper. Measure ⅓ cup of the mixture into a small bowl and stir in the molasses, honey and ½ teaspoon pepper; cover and refrigerate to use later as a glaze. Add the rib sections to the remaining mixture in the large bowl and turn to coat all over. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.

Reviews

Andrew V.

If you have a regular (e.g. Fagor) pressure cooker, would the pressure settings and cooking time be the same for the fast version of this recipe?

Lynn C.

Hi Andrew -

We didn't test this recipe using a stovetop pressure cooker so, unfortunately, we don't know what the specifics would be. Typically, stovetop pressure cookers work faster than electric ones, though.

Best,
The Milk Street Team

nancy T.

Can you make them in a slow cooker or oven?

Lynn C.

Hi Nancy -

Unfortunately, we don't have a conventional recipe for the Char Siu-Style Ribs. If we were to modify this recipe we would probably do Step 1 as written (the marinating process) and then follow Step 3 from our recipe for Hoisin-Glazed Baby Back Ribs. Then broil as written in Step 3 of the Char-Siu Style Baby Back Ribs recipe. Since we haven't tested this we can't say for sure that it will work perfectly, but it should be pretty close! Good luck!

Best,
The Milk Street Team

Aimee G.

Hello, do I need to cut the cooking time in half if I reduce the amount of baby backs by half?

Lynn C.

Hi Aimee -

The cooking time should still be the same. Make sure that you keep the amount of water the same in order to prevent a burn warning.

Best,
The Milk Street Team

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Char Siu-Style Baby Back Ribs