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–+ servings

Slow Cooker Spare Ribs with Plum Glaze

4.50 from 2 votes
All you need to do is put everything in the slow cooker and wait a few hours to make these fall-off-the-bone ribs. The broth created in the slow cooker can also be made into a scrumptious BBQ sauce!
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 8 hours
Total Time: 8 hours 10 minutes
Course: Main
Cuisine: Chinese
Servings: 6 to 8
Author: Maggie Zhu

Ingredients

Sauce

  • 1/4 cup plum jam
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce
  • 1/4 cup Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
  • 2 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce (or homemade hoisin sauce)
  • 1/2 teaspoon five spice powder (or homemade five spice powder)
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder (or paprika powder for a less spicy option)

Slow-cooker

  • 4 pound (1.8 kg) pork baby back ribs
  • 4 green onion
  • 2 to 3 slices ginger
  • 6 cloves garlic , crushed with knife
  • 1 cup chicken stock (or vegetable stock, or water)

Instructions

  • Combine the plum jam, soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, rice vinegar, hoisin sauce, five spice powder, and cayenne powder in a bowl. Stir to mix well.
  • Place the pork ribs into the slow cooker, meat side down. Pour the sauce over the ribs. Add green onion, ginger, garlic, and chicken stock.
  • Cover and cook on the low setting for 7 to 8 hours, or on the high setting for 3 to 4 hours.
  • When the ribs are so tender that you can easily pull the meat from the bones, transfer them onto a big plate and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.
  • Drain the broth by using a fine colander to remove solid ingredients. Skim the fat from the broth and discard.
  • Transfer the broth into a sauce pan. Cook over medium high heat until the sauce thickens, after 20 to 30 minutes. The sauce should reduce to about a third and be enough to cover a spoon. (*Footnote 1)
  • Drizzle half of the sauce over the ribs. Serve the ribs with rest of the sauce on the side.

Notes

  1. You can also use a cornstarch slurry to thicken the sauce to make this process faster. To make cornstarch slurry, combine 1 tablespoon cornstarch and 1/4 cup water in a small bowl. Stir to until the cornstarch is dissolved completely. Slowly drizzle to the broth and stir constantly. Simmer until the sauce thickens.

Nutrition

Serving: 284g, Calories: 638kcal, Carbohydrates: 3.2g, Protein: 61.1g, Fat: 40.4g, Saturated Fat: 14.3g, Trans Fat: 0.3g, Cholesterol: 234mg, Sodium: 710mg, Potassium: 709mg, Sugar: 1.2g, Vitamin A: 100IU, Vitamin C: 3.3mg, Calcium: 90mg, Iron: 3.4mg