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Make this super easy Instant Pot char siu using pork ribs and finish cooking by broiling in the oven to get a nice brown color on the ribs or finish cooking on the stove. Your choice!
COOKING THE WHOLE RIBS IN INSTANT POT
I love cooking the whole ribs in Instant Pot because it is so convenient and I can pretty much set and forget. Never really a big fan of cooking the whole ribs in a grill or oven. This super easy Instant Pot char siu ribs come out perfectly tender with that sweet and sticky char siu sauce smothered on it.
INGREDIENTS FOR INSTANT POT CHAR SIU RIBS
1. PORK RIBS
You can use either baby back ribs or spare ribs. Spare ribs are meatier and fattier if that’s what you prefer. Spare ribs usually are bigger and took a bit longer to cook too. They are less expensive compared to baby back ribs too. I use baby back ribs in this case.
2. AROMATICS: GARLIC AND ONION
My mom likes to include this in her char siu sauce, which adds an extra punch to the sauce. You can use garlic and onion powder too if are really “lazy” 😉 (not judging).
3. HOISIN SAUCE
Hoisin sauce is widely available these days. So you may not need to hunt it down at Asian grocery store. It has a sweet and savory taste profile.
4. OYSTER SAUCE
Oyster sauce adds that mild umami profile to the sauce. You can definitely find this at the Asian store.
5. COOKING WINE
Usually the Chinese will use Shao Shing (Shao Xing) wine, but you can use dry sherry or Japanese sake.
6. CHINESE FIVE-SPICE POWDER
A little goes a long way with Chinese five-spice powder. It is usually made with fennel seeds, cinnamon, cloves, Sichuan peppercorns, and star anise.
7. HONEY
Honey is needed here to add sweetness and to make the sauce shiny and sticky.
HOW TO MAKE INSTANT POT CHAR SIU RIBS
1. PREPARE CHAR SIU SAUCE (IF YOU PLAN TO FINISH COOKING IN THE OVEN)
Place onion and garlic in a food processor and finely chop them. Mix this with the rest of the char siu sauce ingredients and transfer to a saucepan. Cook this over medium heat until sugar melted and the sauce is bubbly. Remove from the heat.
2. PRESSURE COOK THE RIBS
Pour in 1 cup of water into the inner pot of instant pot. Place a trivet in there and place the ribs in a standing position. Cover the lid and press “pressure cooker” and make sure it’s on high pressure. Set timer to 30 minutes. If you really want it to fall off the bone tender, 40 minutes will do. Once the timer is done, wait 10 minutes and then release pressure.
3. TO FINISH COOKING IN THE OVEN: BROIL THE RIBS
Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet lined with aluminum foil, bone side down.
Brush with half of the char siu sauce all over.
Let the ribs broil on low until the sauce is bubbling and have a nice brown but not burn. Remove from the oven and brush with the remaining sauce and serve.
4. TO FINISH COOKING ON THE STOVE
Let the ribs rest for 10 minutes and then cut into individual ribs
Place onion and garlic in a food processor and finely chop them. You can skip this if you use powdered onion and garlic. Mix this with the rest of the char siu sauce ingredients in a large skillet or wok. Cook this over medium heat until sugar melted and the sauce is bubbly
Add the ribs to the sauce and gently stir to coat the sauce on the ribs. Let them cook for few minutes until the sauce starts to get sticky and reduced
The ribs came out tender and we just couldn’t stop licking those fingers!! This is how they look like if you finish cooking them on the stove
These ribs are broiled in the oven.
HOW TO STORE STORE LEFTOVER RIBS
Simply wrap them tightly in a foil and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days max if possible.
HOW TO REHEAT LEFTOVER RIBS
Remove the ribs from the fridge for about 15 minutes. Preheat oven at 300 F. Place them in the oven and cover with a foil and reheat for about 15-20 minutes or until heated through.
May I tempt you?
DID YOU MAKE THIS SUPER EASY INSTANT POT CHAR SIU RIBS RECIPE?
I love it when you guys snap a photo and tag to show me what you’ve made 🙂 Simply tag me @WhatToCookToday #WhatToCookToday on Instagram and I’ll be sure to stop by and take a peek for real!
*Recipe is written for 6-quart Instant Pot. Cooking time should remain the same for 8-quart size but will take longer to pressurize. For mini duo (3-quart), I recommend to half the recipe and use the same amount of time to cook. Cooking time doesn’t change because the time is based on the size of your pot not the quantity of the food*
Super Easy Instant Pot Char Siu Ribs
Ingredients
- 1 big slab pork ribs or spare ribs about 2 1/2 to 3 lbs
Ingredients to grind:
- 1 small onion or 3 Tbsp onion powder
- 5 cloves garlic or 2 tsp garlic powder
Char siu sauce:
- 1 cube red fermented bean curd optional, mash with a fork and get about 2 Tbsp of the juice
- 3 Tbsp hoisin sauce
- 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 Tbsp cooking wine
- 3 Tbsp brown sugar
- 3 Tbsp honey
- 1 tsp five-spice powder
- Salt to taste
Instructions
Prepare the sauce (for broiling method):
- Place onion and garlic in a food processor and finely chop them. You can skip this if you use powdered onion and garlic. Mix this with the rest of the char siu sauce ingredients and transfer to a saucepan. Cook this over medium heat until sugar melted and the sauce is bubbly. Have a taste and adjust to your preference. It should be more at the sweet side. Remove from the heat
Pressure cook the ribs in Instant Pot:
- Remove any excess fat from the ribs and remove the membrane located at the back
- Pour in 1 cup of water into the inner pot of instant pot. Place a trivet in there and place the ribs in an upright position, circling around the inner pot, with the meat side facing out. Cover the lid and press "pressure cooker" and make sure it's on high pressure. Set timer to 30 minutes if using baby back ribs. If you really want it to fall-off-the-bone tender, 40 minutes will do. For spare ribs, set timer to 35 minutes and 45 minutes for fall-off-the-bone tender.Once the timer is done, wait 10 minutes and then release pressure
- If you want to coat the sauce on the stove instead of using oven, set the cooking time to 30 minutes for baby back ribs and 35 minutes for sprare ribs. So the ribs won't fall off the bones as you stir them to coat with the sauce
Option 1: Broil in the oven:
- Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet lined with aluminum foil, bone side down. Brush with half of the char siu sauce all over, saving the half for after broiling
- Turn on the broiler to low. You can use high too, but I prefer low so it won't get charred too quickly. Let the ribs broil until the sauce is bubbling and have a nice brown but not burn. Remove from the oven and brush with the remaining sauce and serve
Option 2: Coat with the sauce on the stove:
- Let the ribs rest for 10 minutes and then cut into individual ribs
- Place onion and garlic in a food processor and finely chop them. You can skip this if you use powdered onion and garlic. Mix this with the rest of the char siu sauce ingredients in a large skillet or wok. Cook this over medium heat until sugar melted and the sauce is bubbly
- Add the ribs to the sauce and gently stir to coat the sauce on the ribs. Let them cook for few minutes until the sauce starts to get sticky and reduced
2 comments
Hi Marvellina,
I would like to try out this recipe. Do you think it is possible to cook this in a crock pot?
Hi Jessica,
Yes, you can definitely cook ribs in a slow cooker. Cook the ribs for 8-9 hours on low or 5-6 hours on high for tender almost fall-apart ribs and then finish cooking in the oven per the instruction in the recipe. I hope this helps.