Short pieces of pork rib, fried, then cooked down in a sticky glaze of sugar and dark vinegar, often topped with sesame seeds. Sweet and sour, with bones to eat around. Served hot or cold.
Zhè pán tángcù páigǔ suān tián pínghéng de gānggāng hǎo.
The sweet-sour balance on this plate of spare ribs is just right.
Tips
culture
Classic Jiangsu-Zhejiang (本帮菜) home dish: pork ribs braised in a glaze of sugar, black vinegar, soy and cooking wine in a roughly 1:2:3:4 ratio (醋糖酱酒). Shanghai and Wuxi versions push the sweetness; the vinegar version is sharper.