Wahaha pork ribs!
Sunday Chinese dinner — Wahaha pork ribs. The Chinese-style braised pork ribs with the signature wahaha branding.
Sunday Chinese dinner with BB — Wahaha pork ribs. The Chinese-style braised pork ribs format.
We ordered:
- Wahaha pork ribs
Pork ribs in Chinese restaurant format come a few directions — Cantonese steamed pork ribs with black bean (spareribs in fermented black bean sauce), sweet-and-sour pork ribs (the chunky deep-fried glazed format), Wuxi-style braised ribs (the dark soy + rock sugar slow-braised version), or the various regional dry-fried preparations.
The pork ribs here were likely the wok-fried glazed style. Pork ribs cut into bite-sized pieces, marinated, deep-fried for crispness, then tossed in a sweet-savoury sauce that coats each piece with the lacquered finish.
The proper Chinese pork rib technique runs:
- Marinate the ribs (soy + Shaoxing wine + ginger + sometimes 5-spice)
- Optional brief steam for tenderness
- Deep-fry or wok-fry for the crispy exterior
- Toss in the finishing sauce (soy + sugar + vinegar + sometimes ketchup)
The sweet-savoury glaze hits all the standard Chinese flavour notes — sweetness from rock sugar or maltose, savoury depth from dark soy and oyster sauce, acid balance from black vinegar, aromatic kick from ginger and scallion. The proper version has the glossy lacquered surface with the right sticky-not-runny consistency.
Bite-sized rib pieces eat well over rice. The rib meat-bone ratio is the test — proper preparation gives you enough meat per bite while keeping the bone-in format that defines the dish. The rib meat itself should be tender from the braising/steaming step, with the exterior crispness intact from the fry step.
This was probably a Chinese tze char restaurant or a sit-down Chinese restaurant. The Sunday dinner timing with BB fits the family-style Chinese restaurant slot.
Overall: 4.5 / 5. 😋👍🏼 Solid Chinese-style pork ribs — would re-order.
