Caramelized Honey Spare Ribs

One of the best shareable dishes from American-Chinese restaurants is pork spare ribs, and their history is deeper than you’d expect. Inspired by traditional sweet and sour pork, this iteration is better than any takeout you can get! The secret ingredient is honey, which is caramelized in the pan for a dark color and unique caramel flavor and aroma in the finished product. 

Chinese New Year, also known as Lunar New Year or Spring Festival, is one of the most important and widely celebrated holidays in Chinese culture. Marking the beginning of the lunar calendar, the festival typically falls between late January and mid-February and ushers in a new year filled with hope, prosperity, and renewal. 

Families gather for elaborate meals, homes are cleaned to sweep away bad luck, and red decorations symbolize happiness, good fortune, and protection against evil spirits. Food plays a central role in these celebrations, with each dish carrying a symbolic meaning meant to bring luck and abundance in the year ahead.

One iconic dish often associated with Chinese New Year celebrations is sweet and sour pork or spare ribs. While its modern form is more prevalent in Western Chinese restaurants, its roots lie in traditional Chinese flavor balances that prize harmony between opposing tastes. Sweet and sour pork represents balance, a key concept in Chinese philosophy and cuisine. 

The sweet element symbolizes happiness and a sweet life, while the sour component is thought to awaken the palate and encourage vitality. The dish’s vibrant red glaze is also significant, as red is the most auspicious color during the Chinese New Year, associated with joy, luck, and prosperity.

A key component of sweet and sour pork’s glossy sauce is sugar or honey, which contributes not only sweetness but also texture and color through caramelization. Honey caramelizes exceptionally well because it is primarily composed of simple sugars like fructose and glucose, which brown at lower temperatures than granulated sugar. We used our friend Selina’s Honey, based in Illinois. Definitely check them out!

This makes honey ideal for creating a deep, complex flavor and a rich amber color without prolonged cooking. Additionally, honey contains trace acids and minerals that enhance browning reactions, resulting in a sauce that is sticky, shiny, and full of depth—perfect for coating pork ribs. In festive cooking, this caramelized sheen is more than aesthetic; it represents richness and abundance for the coming year.

Beyond sweet and sour pork, many other traditional foods appear on Chinese New Year tables, each with a symbolic meaning. Dumplings, shaped like ancient Chinese gold ingots, symbolize wealth and prosperity. Long noodles represent longevity and are eaten without cutting to avoid “shortening” one’s life. Whole fish, often served with the head and tail intact, signifies abundance and completeness, as the Chinese word for fish (“yu”) sounds like the word for surplus. Sticky rice cakes, or nian gao, symbolize growth and progress, as “nian gao” sounds like “higher year.”

Chinese New Year traditions extend beyond food. Lion and dragon dances are performed to scare away evil spirits and invite good luck. Red envelopes filled with money, known as hongbao, are given to children and unmarried adults as blessings of prosperity. Fireworks and firecrackers, though restricted in some areas today, have long been used to mark the celebration with sound and light meant to ward off misfortune.

Together, these customs and dishes make Chinese New Year a celebration rich in symbolism, flavor, and communal joy. Whether through a sticky-sweet glaze on pork ribs or a shared table filled with meaningful foods, the holiday centers on balance, abundance, and the hope for a prosperous year ahead. Enjoy!

Caramelized Honey Spare Ribs

Caramelized honey is the star ingredient in these juicy braised spare ribs. A rich combination of flavors and aromas comes together in one wok for a dish that beats takeout every time! Makes enough for a party.

Recipe and Photography by Sam Burgess

Forge To Table Knives

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Servings: 6

Ingredients:

• 4 pounds short-cut spare ribs, sliced into individual ribs

• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

• ⅓ cup honey

• 4 tablespoons soy sauce

• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce

• ⅓ cup white vinegar

• ¼ cup Shaoxing cooking wine (or dry sherry as a substitute)

• ¼ cup water

• 2 large planks of fresh ginger

• 4 whole star anise

• 4 garlic cloves, crushed

• 4 each scallions, whites and greens separated, sliced thin

• A few drops of red food coloring, if desired 

• Sesame seeds, for serving

• Rice, for serving

Directions:

1. PREP. Using a Forge To Table Classic Cleaver, slice the spare ribs into small 2” inch - 3” inch sections. Place the spare ribs in a pot and fill with water until all the meat is submerged. 

2. BLANCHE. Place over high heat and bring to a simmer. Skim the surface of the water to remove any impurities and simmer for 3 minutes. Drain the water and transfer the ribs to a large bowl. Rinse well and set aside. 

3. CARAMELIZE. Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or deep pan over medium heat. Add the honey and allow it to bubble and caramelize until a dark amber color, about 2-4 minutes, being careful it doesn’t burn. 

4. RIBS. Increase the heat to medium-high, add the blanched ribs, and cook, stirring, until the ribs start to brown, about 2-3 minutes. Add the soy sauce, dark soy sauce, white vinegar, Shaoxing cooking wine, water, ginger planks, star anise, crushed garlic cloves, and scallion whites. Add red food coloring, if desired. 

5. SIMMER. Stir well to combine, cover with a lid, and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer gently for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

6. GLAZE. Remove the lid and increase the heat to medium. Cook and stir the ribs in the liquid for 10-15 minutes or until the sauce sticks to the ribs and the oil starts to separate at the bottom of the pan. 

7. Use tongs to transfer the ribs to a plate. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and the sliced scallion greens. Serve warm and enjoy!

Chef’s Notes:

• Red food coloring is an optional addition that has historic roots, as red is the most auspicious color during the Chinese New Year, associated with joy, luck, and prosperity. Your call!

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