Every time I use my slow cooker I swear that I’ll start using it more often! And when I cook up deliciousness like these amazing Tangerine Sticky Ribs it makes even more of a believer of slow cooking.
The recipe is really simple and by stocking up on a few Asian Cooking Ingredients, you’ll have everything you need for a delicious weeknight splurge.
Cooking Asian-style meals in your home is all about having the right ingredients on hand. Once your pantry is stocked you’ll find many recipes you’ll enjoy making for your family and friends.
Ingredients to make Chinese Sticky Ribs
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make slow cooker Chinese Sticky Ribs. In Chef Speak this is called the “Mise en Place” which translates to “Everything in its Place”.
Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed up the cooking process, it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
How to make Slow Cooker Chinese Sticky Ribs
Once you’ve got all your ingredients you can begin adding them to your slow cooker. Using your slow cooker to make delicious meals couldn’t be easier.
Enjoy your day while your slow cooker does all the work!
If you’re looking for a traditional rib recipe, my baby back ribs on the grill are easy to make and delicious!
When the timer goes off, you only have one step to complete your dinner.
Take all the liquid from the slow cooker and place it in a saucepan. Let the liquid reduce by 50% or until it’s thick enough to be used as a sauce for the ribs.
Brush the sauce on the ribs and serve up deliciousness to your guests. If you’d like the ribs a little crisper, give them a few minutes under the broiler. Or finish your Tangerine Sticky Ribs off on the grill.
If you’re not fond of ribs or want to change this recipe up, try it with chicken.
Recipe FAQ’s
Pork spare ribs are called Paigu in Chinese. They are especially popular in Chinese and American Chinese cuisine.
If you don’t want to buy all the Asian seasonings and sauces, you can make your own version of an Asian-style barbecue sauce for the ribs by mixing sweet and sour sauce or sweet chili sauce with your favorite barbecue sauce.
More Slow Cooker Recipes You’ll Love!
Chinese Sticky Ribs
Ingredients
- 3 pounds rack baby back pork ribs
- 2 tangerines coarsely chopped
- 1 cup tangerine juice
- 1 cup orange blossom honey
- ¼ cup hoisin sauce
- ¼ cup toasted sesame oil
- 1 clove large garlic coarsely chopped
- 1 tablespoon tangerine zest
- 1 knob fresh ginger peeled and coarsely chopped
- 1 teaspoon Szechuan peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
- 1 tablespoon sambal oelek or your favorite chili pepper sauce
- 2 tablespoons chopped tangerine peel for garnish
- 1 tablespoon chopped parsley or cilantro for ganish
Instructions
- Cut baby back ribs into portions that will fit into your slow cooker.
- Add the sesame oil, garlic, ginger, peppercorns and tangerine zest to the bottom of your slow cooker.
- Place ribs on top of seasonings
- Add tangerine juice, honey, hoisin, chili pepper sauce and five spice powder to slow cooker pouring over ribs. Don’t worry it will all come together.
- Set timer for 4 hours on fast or 6-7 hours on slow. Ribs should be cooked till tender, not falling off the bone.
- Remove liquid from slow cooker when the time goes off and place in a small saucepan.
- Allow liquid to reduce by half, or until nicely thickened. You want the sauce to seriously cling to the ribs.
- Brush generous amounts of sauce on ribs, serve and enjoy!
- * you can place them in the broiler for a few minutes if you like, but I don’t think they need it.
rika
This looks amazing! I love ribs! This is the perfect game day food.
Natalie
Oh wow!!! That just seriously made me drool. I must forward this recipe to my hubs. He’s the man behind the BBQ. Can’t wait him to make us this. Looks sooo delicious and full of flavor.
Karyl Henry
Having all the ingredients ready and handy is SUCH a time saver! Sometimes I get rushed and don’t do it, and totally regret it later. I’ve never thought to make ribs with tangerine as the base of the sauce, but it sounds wonderful to use the deeper citrus flavor of the tangerine
Jenna
Yum! I love making Asian inspired meals at home. We were just saying how we need to make ribs in our slow cooker or instant pot before the end of summer. We’ll definitely give yours a try!