This has always been a favorite dish of mine when going out to eat and I’ve missed it so much since becoming gluten-free. I’m obsessed with this recipe and I’m so glad to have Chinese Spare Ribs back in my life. I’m also allergic to corn, so for this recipe I use gluten-free flour as a thickener for the sauce. It also works well with corn starch as a thickener if you aren’t allergic.
I also have to give credit where credit is due. My amazing husband, Gwithyen Thomas, who’s an award winning chef, came into the kitchen and helped me knock this recipe out of the ballpark by adding the marmite, ginger, five spice, and star anise to it.
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Crock Pot Chinese Spare Ribs Recipe
Makes: 4 servings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 4.5-5 hours on low
Ingredients
- 1 rack pork spare ribs
- 1 tbsp green onions, diced, sprinkled over food as garnish
Sauce Ingredients
- 1 cup ketchup (corn syrup free)
- 1 cup + 1 tbsp Lyle’s Golden Syrup
- 1/2 cup gluten free hoisin sauce
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar
- 1 tbsp ground ginger
- 2 tbsp Chinese five spice
- 2 tbsp chopped onion, minced (onion optional)
- 1 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1/4 tsp Marmite Yeast Extract
- 1 tsp salt
- 5 star anise
- 1-2 tbsp gluten-free all purpose flour, to thicken sauce after ribs are cooked (optional; corn starch can be used alternatively)
Directions
- Cut ribs into 3-4 sections and add salt to both sides. Place in crockpot.
- Mince onions for sauce and whisk together all of the sauce ingredients. Optionally, you can cook the sauce on the stove first by heating on high and whisking it until it boils and then turning it to low, as it reduces. Extra sauce can then be saved in a jar. If cooking in the crock pot, pour all of the sauce over the ribs. If cooked in advance on the stove, pour 1-2 cups of sauce into the crockpot to marinate it and save the rest of the sauce to add on top, or keep for leftovers.
- Cook on low for 4.5-5 hours until ribs are tender but not falling off the bone.
- Remove the ribs from the crock pot and degrease the tops by spooning off the top layer of fat.
- If you made the sauce directly in the crock pot, follow the remaining instructions: Skim the oil (the light part) with a ladle gently out of the sauce.
- Mix gluten free flour with water, then whisk into the sauce.
- Turn the crockpot onto high and whisk occasionally until thickened. Add another tbsp of flour mixed with water as needed.
- Serve the sauce over the ribs and sprinkle with green onions.
