THE WUXI RIB: SHANGHAINESE SWEET BRAISED SPARE RIBS

Wuxi, a city in Jiangsu province on the shores of Lake Tai, is famous throughout China for this preparation — the name is inseparable from the dish. The sweet-savoury balance of Jiangnan cooking (the region encompassing Shanghai, Suzhou, Hangzhou, and Wuxi) is the defining regional aesthetic — where Sichuan cooking reaches for heat and Cantonese cooking reaches for clarity, Jiangnan reaches for the sweet, caramelised depth of rock sugar in aged soy.

Wuxi pai gu — Wuxi spare ribs — are the emblem of Shanghainese and Jiangnan sweet-savoury cooking: pork spare ribs braised until fall-off-the-bone tender in a liquid of Shaoxing wine, dark soy sauce, rock sugar, and aromatics, then lacquered with a glaze reduced to extraordinary intensity. The technique is an application of the hong shao principle to spare ribs specifically, and requires the additional step of initial deep-frying to create the complex, caramelised exterior that distinguishes Wuxi ribs from an ordinary braise.

Wuxi ribs are a centrepiece dish in Shanghainese and Jiangnan cooking — rich enough to anchor a meal, complex enough to be interesting beyond comfort. Plain steamed rice, stir-fried greens with garlic, and a clear soup alongside constitute the complete Jiangnan meal. The sweetness of the ribs demands the neutrality of rice and the slight bitterness of the greens as balancing elements.