Crispy Honey Garlic Ribs (Bite Sized)

Not your traditional Chinese honey garlic ribs, these deep fried bite-sized ribs are crispy, drizzled with honey and coated in crispy garlic bits. Not for the faint of heart but definitely for the garlic lovers - breath mints anyone?

My first memories of honey garlic ribs were Chinese take-out nights with mom. Dad would often work late nights at the restaurant, which meant either Popeye's fried chicken or Chinese take-out for dinner. I don't think I ever told my mom how much I loved those evenings, so mom if you're reading this - thank you for being awesome.

Honey garlic ribs in the 90s, were exactly the same as honey garlic ribs are now. Usually deep-fried (but you could never really tell - since it was always soaking in a liquidy sweet syrup) and delicious.

As an adult, I'm a bit pickier about deep-fried crispy bite-sized delicious morsels tossed in sweet sauces. I like them deep-fried and drizzled in sweet sauce but still crispy! (Which is probably why I'm super picky when I get take out and ask for the sauce on the side.)

This recipe is just that. Crispy deep-fried pork, drizzled in honey (so it doesn't take away from the crispiness of the pork) and then lightly coated with crispy garlic bits - which makes it crispy again! The best part? These honey garlic ribs are bite-sized and easy to eat, so you can enjoy them as a snack with friends, serve them as appetizers or just hoard them all to yourself. 🙂

INGREDIENTS

For these honey garlic ribs, all ingredients should be available at your local grocery store.

For the ribs, I used side ribs (spare ribs) and asked the butcher to cut them lengthwise 2 inches thick.

For the rice wine, this will be available at an Asian grocery store but you can also substitute white wine vinegar for it as well.

The fish sauce is what makes the ribs very flavourful during the marination process. If you can find it, get it - it will last you a very long time and it's worth it because it is filled with tons of umami-ness but please buy this locally. Broken bottles of fish sauce will stink to high heaven. If you can't get it locally, you can substitute it with soy sauce.

This recipe will make a lot of crispy garlic bits so there will be extra but that's a good thing. Save the crispy garlic to top your rice, noodles or soups! This stuff makes everything delicious.

PUTTING IT TOGETHER

Preparation

1. 1. Peel and chop the garlic - if you have a small food processor it would be quicker to blitz it in there. Set the garlic aside
   2. Cut in between the bones for bite sized riblets and place it in a large bowl
      
   3. Add the fish sauce, sugar, rice vinegar and 1 tablespoon of garlic into the bowl with the ribs and mix well.
   4. Set it in the fridge to marinade for 2 hours
   5. Once the 2 hours is up, add the corn starch to create a thin coating on the ribs.
      

Making Crispy Garlic Bits 

1. In a high wall pot, add about 2 inches of oil and set the stove to medium heat. If you are using a deep fryer, set the temperature to 350F/177C.
2. To test if the oil is hot, add a few bits of garlic to see if it starts to sizzle.
3. Once the oil is hot, add the garlic and keep stirring every few seconds so it doesn't burn. Cook it for about 5 minutes. (Garlic burns easily especially garlic closer to the hot edges of the pan, keep an eye on it!)
4. Once the garlic is a golden yellow (This will take approximately 5 minutes of cooking.), remove the garlic by pouring it out into a strainer or using a strainer to scoop it out. The garlic will continue to cook and brown. (Reserve the garlicky oil for deep frying the ribs.) Set the crispy garlic aside for later.
   

Deep Frying the Riblets

1. Pour the garlicky oil back into the pot and bring it up to temperature again.
2. Cook the ribs in batches, careful not to over crowd the pan and cook it for 4-6 minutes. (If the ribs are browning too quickly, lower the heat a notch)
3. Once the ribs have finished cooking, let it sit on paper towel to absorb some of the oil
4. Toss it in the honey to coat it and make it sticky and then toss in the crispy garlic bits!
5. Serve immediately and enjoy! 🙂

What's your favorite Chinese take-out dish? and what do you enjoy most about it? For me, it's the sweet sauces and slippery noodles. 🙂 Do you have a particular recipe you'd like to request? Send it my way! 🙂

Follow us on Instagram and tag us with #pupswithchopsticks to show me all your honey garlic ribs goodness!

Recipe Card

Crispy Honey Garlic Ribs

Not your traditional Chinese honey garlic ribs, these deep fried bite-sized ribs are crispy, drizzled with honey and coated in crispy garlic bits.

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Course: Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine: Asian, Chinese

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

3 Servings

5 from 8 votes

Made with ♡ by Joyce | Pups with Chopsticks

Recipe Notes

• If you have extra crispy garlic bits, use them to top your rice, noodles or soups! This stuff makes everything delicious.

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Ingredients

 

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• ▢ 2 lbs side ribs (spare ribs)
• ▢ 3-4 tablespoons honey (for tossing the ribs in at the end)
• ▢ 10-15 garlic cloves (as crispy topping)

Rib Marinade

• ▢ 1 tablespoon garlic (minced)
• ▢ 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• ▢ 1 teaspoon sugar
• ▢ ½ tablespoon + 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
• ▢ 5-6 tablespoons corn starch (to create a batter after marination)

Instructions

 

Preparation & Marinating the Ribs

• Peel the garlic and finely mince it. (To save a bit of time, if you have a small food processor, this will work wonders) Set the garlic aside.
• Cut between the bones of the ribs and place it in a large bowl.
• Add all the ingredients from the marinate ingredient list except the corn starch
• Mix well and keep it in the fridge for 2 hours
• After 2 hours, add in the corn starch to coat the ribs, it will create a semi dry coating.

Deep Frying the Garlic and Ribs

• In a high wall pot, add about 2 inches of oil and set the stove to medium heat. If you are using a deep fryer, set the temperature to 350F/177C.
• Once the oil is hot, add in all the garlic. (To test if the oil is hot, add a fit bits of garlic to see if it sizzles)
• Keep stirring the garlic, the garlic closer to the walls of the pot will cook faster and burn faster - to prevent that keep stirring
• Once the garlic is a golden yellow (This will take approximately 5 minutes of cooking.), remove the garlic by pouring it out into a strainer or using a strainer to scoop it out. The garlic will continue to cook and brown. (Reserve the garlicky oil for deep frying the ribs.) Set the crispy garlic aside for later.

Deep Frying the Riblets

• Pour the garlicky oil back into the pot and bring the oil back to temperature on medium heat. (You may need to adjust this to a lower setting depending on how strong your stove is)
• Cook the ribs in batches, careful not to over crowd the pan and cook it for 4-6 minutes. (If the ribs are browning too quickly, lower the heat a notch)
• Once all the ribs are done cooking, set it on some paper towel to absorb some of the grease.
• Drizzle honey on generously and sprinkle some crispy garlic on top
• Serve piping hot or warm! It's best when it's is freshly made 🙂

Nutrition

Serving: 1Serving | Calories: 506kcal | Carbohydrates: 61g | Protein: 28g | Fat: 21g | Sodium: 985mg | Sugar: 23g

*Nutritional information is calculated using online tools and is an estimate*

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