Vietnamese Fried Pork Spare Ribs (Suon Heo Chien)

Vietnamese Fried Pork Spare Ribs (Suon Heo Chien)

Vietnamese Fried Pork Spare Ribs (Suon Heo Chien) is a quick and easy recipe of lightly marinated and pan-fried bite-size ribs. This is a great recipe for a busy work or school night that comes together in under 30 minutes.

Pork ribs at the grocery store usually come in big slabs. To get the cut I want for this recipe, I have to chop it up into bite-size pieces with a large meat cleaver at home. However, if you have a butcher to assist you, you can cut down the prep work. Ask him/her to cut the ribs into long 1-to-2-inch-wide strips that are perpendicular to the bones. This way you have a string of tiny ribs. When you take them home, simply use any regular sharp knife and cut in between the meat to get individual bite-size ribs.

When cooking with bones, the Asian way is to thoroughly clean them with salt. The salt exfoliates the skin, removing any surface impurities and odor, as well as leaving a nice surface shine. Others also rub down the bones with a bit of vinegar. The use of vinegar helps to neutralize any foul porky odor. Others go one step further and blanch the bones in boiling water. In the recipe below, I keep it simple by using the salt exfoliation method only.

For the marinade, I’m using the ultimate Vietnamese home cooking cheat, which is bouillon stock powder, in addition to salt, sugar, ground black pepper and garlic powder. Because I’ll be frying the spare ribs initially to get the nice caramelization, I’m avoiding any liquid in the marinade. That means no fish sauce here. Otherwise, it would be a hot-oil-splattering-no-fun mess. I’m also not using fresh garlic since they burn quickly in the frying part of the recipe. Garlic powder is a safe-proof method. It also makes for a quicker and simpler recipe.

I also add baking soda in the marinade to help tenderize the meat. You can leave this out if preferred.

Vietnamese Fried Pork Spare Ribs (Suon Heo Chien)

Vietnamese Fried Pork Spare Ribs (Suon Heo Chien)

Vietnamese Fried Pork Spare Ribs (Suon Heo Chien)

Serves 3-5

Ingredients

• 2 lbs pork spare ribs (thin ribs; have the butcher cut into long strips, perpendicular to bones; then cut into bite-size pieces between bones at home or simply cut with a sharp cleaver at home)
• 1 tablespoon chicken or mushroom bouillon stock powder
• 1 tablespoon sea salt (optional for cleaning)
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1 tablespoon granulated white sugar
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon baking soda (meat tenderizer)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 scallion/green onion (optional; slice thin)

Instructions

1. Optional but recommended: Clean the pork by giving it a good rub down with 1 tablespoon salt. This helps get rid of any foul pork smell and surface residue. Rinse the spare ribs under cold running water to wash off salt then drain dry.
2. In a medium-size bowl, marinate pork spare ribs with chicken/mushroom bouillon stock powder, remaining salt (2 teaspoons), sugar, garlic powder, ground black pepper and baking soda for at least 30 minutes.
3. In a large skillet with a lid, heat vegetable oil on medium-high. Pan fry spare ribs until golden brown on all sides (about 4-6 minutes).
4. Add a splash of water (1/4 cup), cover skillet with a lid and cook for 5-7 minutes until tender. Remove lid and continue to pan-fry until excess moisture is gone.
5. Garnish with sliced green onion/scallion and serve.

Vietnamese Fried Pork Spare Ribs (Suon Heo Chien)