1-2-3-4-5 Ribs is a dish that’s come in and out of my consciousness with an almost mystical quality. I didn’t know the origin of the name, nor had I ever tried it. But every so often, I’d hear of it again and wonder what everyone else seemed to know that I didn’t!
So when I heard recently from a cousin that it’s her go-to rib recipe and that her kids love it, I finally was able to demystify the dish that’s eluded me all these years.
So Why Is It Called 1-2-3-4-5 Ribs?
I don’t know who invented this wickedly tasty Chinese rib recipe, but when you see a name like 1-2-3-4-5 Ribs, you know it’s going to be easy.
Basically, the 1-2-3-4-5 refers to the ratios of 5 basic ingredients: Shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, black vinegar, sugar, and water. The result is a sticky sweet and sour sauce that perfectly coats the ribs.
Depending on whether you prefer your sweet and sour sauce to be primarily sweet or sour, you can feel free to switch around the sugar and vinegar ratios (use 4 tablespoons vinegar and 3 tablespoons sugar as opposed to the other way around).
Just one word of advice—restrain yourself from changing the recipe in any other way! Even I had to control myself, because I wanted so much to add some dark soy sauce to make the color a little darker. But I decided to have faith, and as you can see, the black vinegar helped do the job nicely! In this case, the basic simplicity of the dish really works.
I will say that 1-2-3-4-5 ribs do call for a fair amount of sugar, so make it as an occasional treat. That said, I’m very glad this recipe is no longer a mystery to me!
1-2-3-4-5 Ribs: Recipe Instructions
Select meaty ribs, and have the butcher cut them into 1.5” to 2” long pieces. Rinse and pat dry with a paper towel.
Preheat a wok until it starts to smoke lightly (see my post on how to prevent food from sticking to a wok). Add 2 tablespoons oil, along with the ginger slices. Over medium heat, fry the ginger for 1 minute.
Add the ribs.
Turn up the heat to high, and take a few minutes to brown both sides.
Turn down the heat, and add in:
1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine…
2 tablespoons light soy sauce…
3 tablespoons Chinese black vinegar…
4 tablespoons sugar…
And 5 tablespoons water.
Stir and mix everything well. Turn up the heat to bring it to a boil.
Once boiling, cover and reduce the heat to medium/low. Simmer for 25 minutes (20 minutes if the ribs are less meaty than mine). Halfway through the process, check to make sure the liquid is not drying up. If so, reduce the heat further and add in a little more water if needed.
After 25 minutes of simmering, remove the lid. There should be quite a bit of liquid left.
Time to turn up the heat to reduce the sauce and make the ribs glisten. With the heat on high, continuously stir and toss the ribs. This process takes only a couple of minutes.
Reduce the liquid until there is ¼ cup of liquid left and the ribs are gleaming with sauce! Serve immediately.
1-2-3-4-5 Ribs
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 pounds pork ribs (680g, the meatier the better, cut into 1.5- to 2-inch pieces)
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 4 slices ginger
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
- 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons Chinese black vinegar
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 5 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Select meaty ribs, and have the butcher cut them into 1.5” to 2” long pieces. Rinse, and pat dry with a paper towel.
- Preheat a wok until it starts to smoke lightly (see my post on how to prevent food from sticking to a wok). Add 2 tablespoons oil, along with the ginger slices. Over medium heat, fry the ginger for 1 minute. Add the ribs, turn up the heat to high, and take a few minutes to brown both sides.
- Turn down the heat, and add in 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine, 2 tablespoons light soy sauce, 3 tablespoons Chinese black vinegar, 4 tablespoons sugar, and 5 tablespoons water. Stir and mix everything well. Turn up the heat to bring it to a boil.
- Once boiling, cover and reduce the heat to medium/low. Simmer for 25 minutes (20 minutes if the ribs are less meaty than mine). Halfway through the process, check to make sure the liquid is not drying up. If so, reduce the heat further and add in a little more water if needed.
- After 25 minutes of simmering, remove the lid. There should be quite a bit of liquid left. Time to turn up the heat to reduce the sauce and make the ribs glisten. With the heat on high, continuously stir and toss the ribs. This process takes only a couple of minutes. Reduce the liquid until there is ¼ cup of liquid left and the ribs are gleaming with sauce! Serve immediately.
Nutrition
Ling says
Love love love this dish!
Made tonight, so easy and both my kids asked me to make it again!
Can’t wait to eat it again and will probably serve it on Chinese New Year!
Thanks for the amazing recipe!!!
Judy says
Great! Thank you for leaving us a comment, Ling.
Dave Job says
Pretty good dish for a cold winter evening. I had some tough old “country-style” ribs, so they required about double the simmer time and probably could have gone even a bit more because they still ended up on the chewy side. But even so they tasted pretty good. I had to add more vinegar at the end because it just needed more tang, and I really like the flavor of black vinegar so more is usually better. Other than that, I cut back on the sugar because I was using regular white sugar which looked finer-grained than what you had in your picture above. In the end it all came out fine. Good recipe.
Judy says
Hi Dave, if you like it more tangy, you should do 3 sugar, 4 (black) vinegar.
Bill says
Great receipt!
I experimented with your receipt after the third time. I change to rock sugar. Added garlic and hoisin sauce.
I enjoy all the dishes you provided. It reminds me of all the dishes my parents cooked growing up.
Thanks
Judy says
Awesome! Thank you for leaving us a msg.
kat 😊 says
Hi can i omit ginger? What is the best substitute for ginger? :) happy new year!! :)
Judy says
Hi Kat, you can replace the ginger with scallion or garlic.
James says
Fantastic recipe, so easy for such great results! I’ve made it twice this week already!
Bill says
Hi James, it’s definitely tasty and easy as 1-2-3-4-5 hahaha!
Marie says
Being a Haitian American married to a Chinese man, cooking a wide array of tasty dishes is essential- this recipe was mind blowing for hubs and I. I added spicy chili’s and garlic (& a little less sugar) and mmmmmm! I will make this stunning dish for my company potluck tomorrow and for my family this holiday season! Excited! Thanks soooo much!
Judy says
You are so welcome, Marie.
Helen says
My cousin taught my Mom this recipe many years ago. She said it was shown on a Hong Kong TV show. Some people also called this do-re-mi-fa-so spareribs
I make this often and shared this many times with my friends. This recipe works well with party wings too. I myself like the sauce to be thick and glossy so I reduce the sauce when cooking for less people. You do have to watch that last few minutes so not to burn it. My family loves the the sauce and I don’t reduce the sauce as much when cooking for them.
Judy says
Thank you for leaving us a comment, Helen, what a great name! Never knew!