Deliciously Not Deep-Fried Salt and Pepper Ribs Recipe + Video

Sometimes you start out with all the best intentions to follow a recipe but then unexpected things happen, like you buy the wrong cut of meat! That was the case when I went to cook from the Nom Wah Cookbook, a 2019 publication from the namesake dim sum restaurant in New York City’s Chinatown. Chinese restaurant cooking can be tricky to decipher, and it’s rare for a Chinese-American establishment to reveal their recipes. But this is a generous and community spirited book that celebrates New York City and Chinese-American traditions there -- something that's particularly needed during the pandemic when many Chinatown businesses there are hurting.

The Nom Wah Cookbook is an honest, heartfelt work, one that I recommended among my picks of Asian cookbooks. Hankering for Cantonese-restaurant style salt and pepper ribs, I thought Nom Wah had a recipe for it, so bought a rack of baby back ribs. Alas, their recipe was for salt and pepper pork chops! No biggie, I could adapt the recipe but keep its framework and approach. 

That said, I didn’t want to deep-fry the pork (a standard approach) so I further cooked off-road and instead, air-fried and oven-fried the ribs. The result was not as hard-shell crispy as restaurant style cooking but the delicate crispness and flavor were excellent, more complex and nuanced than what I typically get at restaurants. It was so good that I made the ribs again a week later. 

That’s how I came to this salt and pepper ribs recipe for you to use and play with. Here are my tips for your back pocket. 

Remove the Silverskin

Though baby back ribs are more tender than spareribs, remove the thin membrane (silveskin) on the bonier side so you may allow the marinade to better penetrate. It takes a couple minutes and is worth the trouble. 

Use your finger to initially pull up a corner of the membrane. From there, you may keep pulling it back but it may be slippery. A paper towel is handy to grip the membrane to pull it back all the way. Discard it since there’s not much else you may do with it. 

(Another recipe that uses this technique is the easy Chinese barbecued ribs. Just suggesting here…) 

Fast Marinade and Slighty Oily Batter

Nom Wah’s marinade can sit on the pork for as little as 15 minutes and as long as 2 hours. It’s great for weeknight cooking or weekend entertaining. The egg, rice wine, sesame oil, and salt enrich as well as season the pork with flavor and fragrance. 

I tested the marinade at both 15 minutes and 2 hours and there is marginal difference. What’s important with the ribs, honestly, is removing that silverskin! 

Chinese cooks sometimes put oil into batters and when I’ve followed suit, I’ve noticed that it imparts a bit of extra crispness and slight sheen. I upped the oil and cornstarch a bit from Nom Wah’s original recipe because the ribs have more surface area to cover. 

Oven-Frying vs. Air-Frying

If you have a convection mode in your oven, this is the time to use it! On my GE Cafe range, there’s a convection roasting option that blows air around more forcefully. It’s not as powerful of an all around heat as what I get from the Cuisinart air fryer toaster oven but it’s totally fine! However, oven frying allows you to high-heat roast the entire batch at once so it has its advantages.

(If you're interested in the air-fryer, the Cuisinart TOA-60 is fine but the knob knobs on mine broke, so I recently stepped up the more precise and hopefully long lasting digital TOA-605.)

If you simply bake at 450F without convection, the ribs may not brown or crisp as much. But, I’m sure you’ll still have great results. 

And if you’re okay with deep-frying, break out the oil and a wok or Dutch oven. Use about 2 inches of oil and fry the ribs to a crisp. Omit the soy sauce from the batter because I put it in for browning purposes. 

Make a Spicy Coating

The final stir-frying phase is when you add the spicy salt and pepper magic. The spice blend varies, and some cooks don’t add Chinese five-spice to their salt and pepper seasonings. However, I like the depth that the warm spices add. I used my homemade blend of five spice, which cuts the white pepper heat a tad as it lends complexity. 

Regarding the white pepper, if you don’t like white pepper, use black pepper. That said, there are different kinds of white pepper, which is simply the peppercorn stripped of their outer layer. Good white pepper, like the Sarawak from Penzeys that I used today, or this one from Burlap and Barrel, has a savory pungency that’s amazing. I’ve also purchased excellent white pepper in Vietnam. If you’ve had meh white pepper, source some from a spice shop and taste the difference. Mix the spice blend up and taste it to see if it’s agreeable. Tweak it as you see fit. 

This recipe looks long but it’s not complicated. In the Nom Wah Cookbook and my adaption below, the ingredients get separated out to make it easier for you to follow. 

Salt and Pepper Ribs How-to Video

Here's a little video to bring the recipe together for you. (If you do not see the video, refresh your browser, or switch to another browser. I use Chrome, Edge and Safari.)

I’m looking forward to further exploring the Nom Wah Cookbook for more inspiration, information and frankly, good food! Better yet, I look forward to going to the restaurant again when travel is easier!

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Air-Fried/Oven-Fried Salt and Pepper Ribs

Many thanks to Wilson Tang and the Nom Wah Cookbook for informing this recipe, which was adapted from the 2019 publication by Ecco Press. These ribs are a Cantonese (southern Chinese) dish that's known as sườn rang muối in Vietnamese.

Servings: 4

Ingredients

For marinating the ribs

• 1 (2-pound) rack baby back ribs
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons Shaoxing rice wine (see Note)
• 2 tablespoon water
• 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
• ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt

For coating and air-frying

• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• Scant ½ teaspoon recently ground white pepper
• 2 tablespoons canola or other neutral oil
• 2 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

For stir-frying

• Scant ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon recently ground white pepper
• ¼ teaspoon sugar
• ⅛ teaspoon Chinese five-spice powder
• 1 ½ tablespoon canola or other neutral oil
• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 2 large jalapenos, cut into thin rings
• 2 small Fresno chiles, cut into thin rings

Instructions

• Cut the rack of ribs in half between two bones. With the meaty side facing down, remove the silver skin on the back side. See the video above for guidance, if needed. Cut between the bones to separate individual ribs.
• In a large bowl, combine the egg, water, wine, sesame oil, and salt. Add the ribs and stir to coat well. Set aside for 15 minutes or cover and let sit, at room temperature, up to 2 hours.
• If you have an air-fryer like the Cuisinart, line the bottom tray with foil. (If you do not have an air-fryer, set a rack in the upper third position and preheat the oven to 450F degrees, preferably on convection or convection roasting mode. Line a baking sheet with foil and place a rack on the baking sheet. Lightly oil the rack.)
• Remove the ribs from the marinade. To the marinade in the bowl, add the coating ingredients: flour, cornstarch, white pepper, oil, water and soy sauce. Stir to combine well. Add the ribs and stir to coat.
• If air-frying, cook in batches (I do 2 batches in mine), arranging the ribs bonier facing side down to minimize touching the rack. Use 400F and air-fry for 10 minutes, until brown and crisp. Remove from the air-fryer, let cool for 2 or 3 minutes, then loosen with a thin flexible turner and flip. Air-fry for about 3 minutes longer to brown and crisp the other side. Hold the ribs on a platter and keep in a warm oven as you cook the other batches.

  (To oven fry, arrange all the ribs bonier side facing down on the prepared baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes. Cool for a couple minutes, then loosen and flip over. Bake for about 5 minutes longer, or until browned on the other side.)
• Combine the salt, sugar, pepper, and five spice in a bowl and set near the stove. Put the remaining 1 ½ tablespoons oil and the garlic in a large wok or skillet. Heat over medium and after things gently fry, watch it till the garlic is pale golden. Remove from the heat and scoop up the garlic and set aside. Pour out the oil until there’s just a film on the pan.
• Return the pan to the burner and crank up the heat to high. When hot, add the chile peppers. Stir-fry for about 1 minute until slightly soft and glistening. Add the ribs and stir fry for 1 to 2 minutes to warm, then sprinkle the salt mixture all over and swiftly stir-fry to combine well. Return the garlic and briefly stir-fry to distribute. Transfer to a platter and serve.

Notes

Shaoxing rice wine is really fabulous here for a signature flavor but you may substitute a dry sherry or sake. 

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