What it is
Wuxi spare ribs (無錫排骨) are pork ribs red-cooked in soy sauce and sugar. They come out with a glossy reddish-brown glaze and a thick sauce that is both salty and sweet. The meat almost melts yet stays on the bone. In Taiwan the dish turns up at Jiangzhe (江浙) restaurants, which cook in the styles of Jiangsu and Zhejiang.
Where it came from
The ribs come from Wuxi, a city in Jiangsu province, where locals simply call them "meat bones" (肉骨頭). Wuxi counts them among its three best-known specialities, with Huishan clay figurines and fried gluten puffs. Local accounts trace the dish to the late Qing, under the Guangxu Emperor (1875 to 1908). In 1982 a state newsreel studio filmed the ribs being made, which helped spread their name across China and overseas.
In Taiwan the ribs belong to the Jiangzhe repertoire. That cuisine rose after 1949, when about 1.2 million people crossed from the mainland with the Nationalist government. Chiang Kai-shek came from the region, migrants from Jiangsu and Zhejiang were numerous, and during the authoritarian era Jiangzhe food was the first choice when senior officials entertained.
How it is made
The ribs are red-cooked, a Chinese method of slow simmering in soy sauce and sugar. Ginger and spices such as fennel seed and cinnamon go into the pot. The liquid reduces until it is thick and clings to the meat, giving the ribs their dark red colour and oily sheen.
How to eat it
In Taiwan the ribs are ordered as a shared plate at Jiangzhe restaurants. In Wuxi they are a regular banquet dish and a popular gift for visitors to take home.
Around Taiwan
- Kaohsiung
- Lao Zheng Xing (老正興), called Kaohsiung's oldest Jiangzhe restaurant by the city's magazine in 2009, lists Wuxi ribs among its classics with Zhenjiang pork terrine (鎮江肴肉). The ribs are braised until the meat slips off the bone, in a thick, slightly sweet sauce.
