I use spare ribs and I bought whole spare-rib and I trimmed it into what they call St.Louis-style spare ribs. Refer to my post above for detail. If you use baby back ribs, you don't need to do any extra trimming other than trimming any excess fat if you want
Flip the ribs to the bone side and use a sharp knife to loosen a corner of the membrane from one end of the rack. Once you have a grip on the membrane, you can use a paper towel to grip the membrane and pull it off in one piece. Membrane is a connective tissue and can't be chewy when cooked. It also can prevent seasoning and marinades from penetrating the meat, which can result in a less flavorful and less tender rib.
Then separate each rib by cutting it into individual pieces. Usually, the Chinese would cut each rib into 2 or 3 smaller pieces. You can ask the butcher to do this or like me, you can leave it whole in one piece
Brown the ribs:
Press saute on Instant Pot, when it says "hot". Add 1 Tbsp of oil. Place half of the ribs, meat-side down on the pot and let them cook until brown and then remove and put the rest of the ribs inside the pot to brown. Remove from the pot
Saute spices:
Add another 1 tbsp of oil. Add the ginger, white part of green onion, garlic, star anise, and cinnamon. Stir fry for about 3-4 minutes until fragrant. Deglaze the pot by pouring 1/4 cup of Shaoxing wine. Use the spatula to scrape the bottom of the pot
Pressure cooking the ribs:
Place the ribs inside the pot, meat side down, followed by the seasonings. Pour water, just enough to cover the ribs
Close the lid. Turn the pressure release valve to "sealing". Press "pressure cooker" and make sure it's on "high pressure". Set the timer to 35 minutes for large pieces of ribs (uncut). If you use smaller pieces of ribs, you may only need 12-15 minutes to pressure cook on high. Allow natural release after that
Reduce the liquid:
Remove the ribs from the pot. Turn on saute mode. Let the cooking liquid comes to a simmer and let it cook until the sauce is reduced by more than half and it can thinly coat the back of your spoon. Have a taste of the sauce and adjust it to your liking. It should be sweet, tangy, and savory.
The sauce thickens further once it cools down. I don't want to reduce too much because my kids love the sauce to go with the rice too.
Add the cooked ribs back into the sauce and gently combine to let the sauce coats the ribs evenly
To serve:
Garnish with some chopped green onion for visual contrast. Serve warm or at room temperature