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Not your ordinary salt and pepper ribs, but Chinese-style salt and pepper ribs for a heavenly taste. It’s sweet, savory, salty, spicy, and earthy, definitely a bomb of flavors! Add zing to your typical ribs night with this Chinese salt and pepper ribs recipe, whipped up in just an hour. The recipe is easy to follow, so give it a try today!
All About Salt And Pepper Ribs
My version of salt and pepper ribs is a breeze to prepare. The ribs are drenched in a savory sauce consisting of green onions, ginger, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, salt, chicken bouillon powder, and egg.
You can pan-fry or air-fry the ribs until tender and add in some minced garlic, chopped chili peppers, and diced onions for a flavor boost.
After frying the marinated ribs, we go to the best part – salt and pepper powder overload!
The special ingredient in this recipe is the salt and pepper powder, which gives it its distinct taste and boosts the overall flavor. Without salt and pepper powder, it is simply just plain marinated ribs.
Salt and pepper powder is sprinkled all over the fried ribs. Don’t be afraid and sprinkle a generous amount. I promise you, you will get addicted to this seasoning.
Where To Get Salt And Pepper Seasoning?
What is Chinese salt and pepper seasoning and how is it different from regular salt and black pepper? No, it is not your typical cooking salt and black pepper powder. If you don’t know yet, Chinese salt and pepper seasoning is a combination of 6 spices:
- Sichuan peppercorn
- Fennel seed
- Shrimp skin
- White sesame
- Salt
- Chinese Five Spice Powder
- Paprika (optional for a slightly spicy taste)
However, you may find others with caster sugar, garlic powder, ground white pepper, and ground ginger.
You can easily find this seasoning in the spice section of a grocery store, Asian supermarkets, or Amazon. Alternatively, I highly suggest you make your own with my easy recipe guide – Make Salt And Pepper Seasoning With 6 Spices.
The recipe calls for toasting, grinding, and mixing the ingredients all together. It is that simple to make yourself a large batch of this seasoning. Once you have salt and pepper seasoning, use it to make the following recipes as well:
- Salt And Pepper Potatoes
- Crispy Salt And Pepper Tofu
- Chinese-Style Salt And Pepper Chicken Wings
- Crispy And Juicy Salt And Pepper Shrimp
- Salt And Pepper Fish
- Crispy Chinese Salt And Pepper Pork Chops
- Savory Chinese Salt And Pepper Pork
- Restaurant-Style Salt And Pepper Squid
Making salt and pepper seasoning is surely worth the effort. It will definitely not go to waste since you can make a variety of salt and pepper dishes. This is the most important ingredient for this recipe, so make sure to have it.
Tips And Substitutes For Salt And Pepper Ribs
- Ribs: Choose ribs with good meat coverage. You want to make sure you have more meat than bones. Moreover, the fat content should not be too high. You can use any type of ribs, such as spare ribs, baby back ribs, or short ribs. I suggest getting pre-cut ribs, so you don’t have to cut them at home. The butcher can already cut them for you.
- Salt and pepper seasoning: Finding an alternative to salt and pepper seasoning is deemed difficult since the taste is distinct and comes from several spices. Thus, I suggest making your own homemade seasoning or getting one from the store. This seasoning gives the overall flavor of the dish an exceptional taste.
- Marinade:To make the marinade, you will need green onions, ginger, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, salt, chicken bouillon powder, and a whole egg.
- The ginger adds a sweet and peppery taste, while the green onions make it slightly oniony.
- Light soy sauce and oyster sauce impart a deep umami and salty taste. You can swap light soy sauce with tamari, liquid aminos, coconut aminos, or gluten-free soy sauce.
- As for oyster sauce, some alternatives are hoisin sauce, teriyaki sauce, kecap manis, Worcestershire sauce with soy sauce and sugar, and oyster-flavored sauce.
- Chicken bouillon powder adds extra flavor with a meaty and savory kick. Some excellent alternatives to this powder are canned chicken broth, Italian seasoning mix, or vegetable bouillon powder.
- Cornstarch: After marinating the ribs, we add a bit of cornstarch to the ribs before frying. In this way, the ribs will have a nice soft crunch and an extra layer of skin. If you don’t have cornstarch, tapioca flour or potato starch are excellent alternatives to coat the ribs. All-purpose flour can also help create a golden brown and crisp exterior.
- Green and red chili peppers: Adding green and chili peppers is part of the last step. After frying the ribs, the chili peppers are mixed in. This adds heat to the dish, so if you are not into spicy food, it is best to skip this. You can substitute 1 whole chili pepper with 1/4 tsp chili flakes.
- Diced onion: Diced onions are also added to the fried ribs as a finishing touch. This is mixed in along with green and red chili peppers. Red, yellow, or white onions are suitable. However, it may have a slight difference in taste. For instance, red onions are slightly sweet and mild, while yellow onions are deep and strong tasting.
- Cooking oil: It is ready for frying after marinating and coating the ribs with cornstarch. You can fry it with oil in the pan or use an air fryer for less oil. If frying in the pan, I recommend using oil with a high smoke point. In this way, it lessens the amount of oil oxidized and can withstand high heat longer. Oils with high smoke points are sesame, avocado, sunflower, canola, and peanut oil.
What You Need To Make Salt And Pepper Ribs
The things you need are not that complicated. Take out your frying pan and a mixing bowl for marinating. As for the ingredients, here’s what you need to get started.
Kitchenware
- Mixing bowl
- Pan for deep frying
- Pan for stir-frying
- Spatula
Ingredients
- 600g Ribs
- 1 tbsp flour and enough water for cleaning
- 10g green onions
- 10g ginger
- 3 tsp light soy sauce
- 2tsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp chicken bouillon powder, option
- 1 whole egg
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 10g minced garlic
- 10g shredded green and red chili pepper
- 10g diced onions
- 2 tsp salt and pepper seasoning
- Oil for deep-frying
How To Make Salt And Pepper Ribs
Simply put, the recipe requires marinating the ribs and frying them in oil in the pan. Afterward, we add flavoring ingredients and sprinkle a generous amount of salt and pepper seasoning. And voila – the best crispy Chinese salt and pepper ribs.
Check out my TikTok or Instagram recipe video for more guidance. After following this recipe, tag @kitchenmisadventures to share your finished product! Here’s how to make salt and pepper ribs:
Prepare the ribs by cleaning them with 1 tbsp of flour andenough water in a bowl.
Squeeze out the blood and impurities inside.
Wash it with water at least three times to thoroughly remove all dirt and blood.
Remove the water and drain.
In the bowl, add chopped green onions, slices of ginger, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, salt, chicken bouillon powder, and egg.
Massage the marinade to the ribs to fully absorb the flavors.
Marinate for 30 minutes.
After marinating, mix in cornstarch and evenly coat the ribs.
Next, fill a pan with enough oil for deep frying and heat it.
Once the oil reaches 180°C or 350°F, fry the ribs.
Slow fry on medium heat for 10 minutes. If you prefer to air-fry the ribs, set the air fryer at 190°C or 375°F and cook for 15 minutes while turning the ribs to the other side halfway through the cooking time.
Continue frying until the ribs become golden brown and crispy.
Remove the ribs and set aside.
In the same pan, leave a small amount of oil for stir-frying and stir-fry the minced garlic.
Then, add the fried ribs, shredded green and red chili pepper, and diced onions. Give it a good mix.
Lastly, sprinkle a generous amount of salt and pepper seasoning.
Mix everything well and stir fry on high heat.
Serve this crispy and mouth-watering dish while hot!
Crispy Chinese Salt And Pepper Ribs
Equipment
- Pan for deep-frying
- Pan for stir-frying
Ingredients
- 600 g Ribs
- 1 tbsp flour and enough water for cleaning
- 10 g green onions
- 10 g ginger
- 3 tsp light soy sauce
- 2 tsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp chicken bouillon powder option
- 1 whole egg
- 1 tbsp corn starch
- 10 g minced garlic
- 10 g shredded green and red chili pepper
- 10 g diced onions
- 2 tsp salt and pepper seasoning
- Oil for deep-frying
Instructions
- Prepare the ribs by cleaning them with 1 tbsp of flour andenough water in a bowl.
- Squeeze out the blood and impurities inside.
- Wash it with water at least three times to thoroughly remove all dirt and blood.
- Remove the water and drain.
- In the bowl, add chopped green onions, slices of ginger, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, salt, chicken bouillon powder, and egg.
- Massage the marinade to the ribs to fully absorb the flavors.
- Marinate for 30 minutes.
- After marinating, mix in cornstarch and evenly coat the ribs.
- Next, fill a pan with enough oil for deep frying and heat it.
- Once the oil reaches 180°C or 350°F, fry the ribs.
- Slow fry on medium heat for 10 minutes. If you prefer to air-fry the ribs, set the air fryer at 190°C or 375°F and cook for 15 minutes while turning the ribs to the other side halfway through the cooking time.
- Continue frying until the ribs become golden brown and crispy.
- Remove the ribs and set aside.
- In the same pan, leave a small amount of oil for stir-frying and stir-fry the minced garlic.
- Then, add the fried ribs, shredded green and red chili pepper, and diced onions. Give it a good mix.
- Lastly, sprinkle a generous amount of salt and pepper seasoning.
- Mix everything well and stir fry on high heat.
