Pork spare ribs
Pork spare ribs from the belly side, chopped into chunks with bone, meat and a ribbon of fat together. Blanched and boiled long, the bones sweeten the broth while the meat stays worth eating, making them richer than lean shin as a soup base. Skim the fat for a cleaner bowl.
TCM properties
Nature · neutral Flavour · sweet、salty Meridians · spleen、stomach、kidney
Traditional food therapy
In Cantonese food therapy pork ribs are used to nourish yin and replenish deficiency, serving as the everyday meat base of tonic soups.
Cautions: read first
- Fattier than pork shin, so skim the soup
- Take care if you have gout
Preparation
Chop into pieces and blanch (飛水).
Origin
Farmed on piggeries nationwide for the domestic market. A supermarket staple (Coles) plus frozen Chinese-style rib strips at Asian grocers. A supermarket spare-rib sheet is the right meat in the wrong length and the counter has no bandsaw; for steaming ask an Asian butcher for pork spare ribs, meaty, cut into 2 cm pieces, and 4 cm pieces for a braise
Availability in Australia
Easy to find
Where · Cut at Asian butchers; supermarkets sell only the sheet
What to ask for · Pork spare ribs, meaty, cut into 2 cm pieces for steaming; 4 cm for a braise
If it is not there · Cut the supermarket sheet between the bones and steam five minutes longer; or Umall's frozen Chinese-style rib strips
Checked Coles · 2026-08-18
