🍽️ Wuxi Spare Ribs

Sweet-savory red braised ribs, a Wuxi classic.

Wuxi Spare Ribs are a flagship of Wuxi's local cuisine in Jiangsu, embodying the city's rich, glossy red-braised style. Pork ribs are blanched, then simmered with Shaoxing wine, soy sauce, rock sugar, star anise and cassia until the sauce thickens and clings to every piece. The ribs glow a deep soy red, the meat so tender it parts at a touch, with a sweet-savory, umami-rich glaze ideal for mixing into rice. Wuxi cooking leans sweet, and these ribs are a perfect example of that balanced sweetness. Besides being served hot, they are commonly sold in vacuum gift packs as a local specialty, and visitors to Wuxi rarely miss a plate of freshly braised ribs to taste the local flavor.