Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs

When it's genuinely hot in Andalucía — and I mean the kind of heat that makes the idea of standing over a stove feel faintly absurd — the kitchen should really be closed. You survive on salads, cold drinks, and the occasional cheese. But there comes a point in every long, hot summer when your stomach stops accepting salad as an answer and starts demanding ribs.

Sweet and sour spare ribs over rocket and fried potatoes. Casa Adora, midsummer.

So you suffer the heat, make the ribs, and serve them over salad. Best of both worlds.

The sauce here is bold — honey, soy, Worcestershire, Sichuan peppercorn, and a hit of cayenne. It reduces down around the ribs into something sticky and deeply flavoured. The salad underneath isn't an afterthought; the peppery rocket and crispy fried potato cubes do real work against all that richness.

Ingredients

• 500g pork spare ribs
• Sunflower oil
• 1 knob of fresh ginger, grated
• 1 clove garlic, crushed and finely chopped

For the sauce:

• 4 tablespoons runny honey
• 4 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs
• 2 plum tomatoes, blitzed
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon crushed Sichuan peppercorns

To serve:

• Rocket and lamb's lettuce
• Red onion, thinly sliced
• Cherry tomatoes
• Grated carrot
• Sliced radish
• Toasted sesame seeds
• Fried potato cubes
• Fresh basil
• Olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice

How to Make Sweet and Sour Spare Ribs

1. Blitz all the sauce ingredients together and set aside.
2. Season the ribs with salt.
3. Heat a wok with a splash of sunflower oil over a medium heat. Stir fry the ginger and garlic for a minute, then add the ribs and cook quickly to brown on all sides.
4. Lower the heat and continue to cook for 10 minutes.
5. Pour the sauce over the ribs, cover, and cook for a further 30 minutes, stirring gently from time to time. If the sauce needs thickening, add a little more brown sugar.
6. Meanwhile, assemble the salad and dress with olive oil and lemon juice.

Serve the ribs over the salad. Ideally on a roof terrace around 9pm, when the sun has just disappeared behind the hill. Something chilled in your glass. Plenty of paper napkins.

This sweet and sour spare ribs recipe is part of my Pork Hub — The Flexible Chef's Complete Collection, where you'll find every pork recipe from Casa Adora and the road.

Find more recipes and food adventures here.

Wonky photos, proper food, genuine adventures — The Flexible Chef.