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
Calvin Carter says
What can I use as a substitute for the wine?
Judy says
Hi Calvin, if you can’t consume alcohol, you can omit it.
Joanne says
I used baby back ribs just cut in half lengthwise and they were pretty perfect. Cooked them for twenty minutes before removing the cover to reduce the sauce and probably could have done them for a little less time since they cook a bit more while reducing the sauce.
Judy says
Yeah, baby back ribs require less time.
Jenn says
You’ve missed out the 5 tablespoons of water-
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
Judy says
Thank you so much for pointing that out, Jenn. It’s been updated.
Jack says
Wow what a great recipe. I made it tonight and it is terrific — incredibly rich and flavorsome. The key is the black vinegar, which makes this dish. I was able to find a premium black vinegar in NY’s Chinatown, “Gold Plum,” that really added to it — Gold Plum is about $12 a bottle while the usual black vinegar is around $1.99. But a little bit of black vinegar goes a long way & as usual in CT there is a pretty direct relationship between price and quality. I finished it off with about a T of finely chopped scallions. Helps focus the flavors. . Thank you for this.
Judy says
Thank you for trying out the recipe, Jack!
Peggy Little says
This looks terrific. Can you suggest something to use in place of sugar for a diabetic? Splenda for sweetener perhaps, but doesn’t the use of sugar also help thicken the recipe? Thanks for thinking about this for me (and I imagine other diabetics) – love your blog.
Jack says
Unfortunately I don’t think you could make this without the sugar because that + the vinegar is what makes the syrupy sauce.
Judy says
Hi Peggy, this is definitely not a dish for diabetics :-|
Virginia says
I have forgotten about this. My mom used to make this but I’ve never seen this in restaurants. Thanks for the reminder of this. I’ll have to make it soon.
Judy says
Yes, please do :-)
Jules says
Are they spareribs? And can I use rice vinegar in instead of Chinese black vinegar?
Judy says
Hi Jules, please use balsamic vinegar if you can’t find Chinese black vinegar.
Stuart says
Are these “baby” back or are they spare ribs?
Judy says
They are spare ribs.
Jack says
They are spare ribs about an inch wide. In Chinatown they are sold in that size trimmed. If you don’t have access to a CT get your butcher to cut a rack of spareribs the long way with a band saw into strips about an inch wide. Then separate each piece by cutting it out of the strip. You could also use a cleaver but there will be lots of bone fragments..