Copycat Chinese Restaurant Dry Garlic Ribs are a nostalgic buffet favourite. Every 80s and 90s Chinese buffet included these delicious ribs and this is a make-at-home recipe that’s better than the original! Get ready, because one taste of these ribs and you’ll be transported back in time!
When I die, I may not go to heaven, but I’ll be as close to heaven as I’ve ever wanted to be if you send me off into eternity with a big plate of these Copycat Chinese Restaurant Dry Garlic Ribs. That might seem a bit extreme to some of you, and if so, then you obviously have not tried these ribs!
A workmate of mine has been begging me to post a rib recipe, and I’m finally doing it. I’m really not sure why it took me so long to do so. I love ribs – both pork and beef ribs, although pork ribs are my favourite. I think it’s because I have this notion in my head that ribs need to be grilled. So wrong!
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NO GRILLING IS NEEDED HERE!
My mom used to make ribs often, but she never used a grill in her entire life! She baked ribs in the oven; and not just some of the time – I’m talking all the time!
Back in the day, my parents had very little use for a grill. It wasn’t until I was in my late teen years that my parents purchased an outdoor grill. From time to time, in my youth, we would grill outside, but we always used one of those red circular charcoal grills. And, even in those few instances, it was always pork chops.
It’s strange to think back on it now and think about how things have changed. I think everyone in Newfoundland now has an outdoor grill, or at least that’s what I can gather from the Facebook posts of family and friends who still live there. At the time of this post, I still don’t own a grill. That’s probably one of the biggest disadvantages of living in an apartment building in the city. Outdoor grills and balconies do not mix. With good reason, I guess. 🙁
Whenever we go to our friend’s cottage in the summertime though, I make up for the lack of grilling in my everyday life. I grill pretty much everything at the cottage – beef, chicken, pork, tofu, veggies, and even halloumi. But, never ribs! I can’t give you a valid reason why.
One day I was at the grocery store and found pork ribs on sale. I had to have them and bought them without thinking about how I would prepare them. And then, I remembered these Chinese Restaurant Dry Garlic Ribs. Problem solved.
CHILDHOOD MEMORIES CAN COME FLOODING BACK ANYTIME!
These are the ribs I remember most from my childhood. Growing up in a small town with just one seasonal restaurant, we were eager to travel to the nearest larger town. That town is called Baie Verte and it had several restaurants and stores too.
I would wait in the back of our little blue station wagon for mom or dad to finish with a doctor’s appointment or with the shopping.
I would impatiently wait while mom checked out the sales at the craft store where she would stock up on yarn. Or impatiently wait while dad picked something up at the hardware store.
If we were shopping at Riff’s, then I would have all the patience in the world. Riff’s was/is a department store that had a toy section and I loved it. I would spend my time there while waiting for mom and dad to finish up.
FINALLY, IT WAS TIME TO EAT!
Eventually, I would get to go to my favourite store and restaurant. I’m not sure if it still exists, but there used to be a corner store/Chinese restaurant combo called Jim’s. First, we would head into the restaurant where I would always order the same thing – Dry Garlic Ribs, Fried Rice, and an Egg Roll.
That was my order – every single time. The rest of my family would order a combo plate with chicken balls floating in sweet and sour sauce – which was great too – but, the ribs were what I craved the most.
By now, you might be jumping ahead to the recipe, since that’s most likely why you came here in the first place, but I’m going to take a moment to tell you about what happened after we finished our Chinese food.
DRIED GARLIC RIBS AND ARCHIE COMICS
Remember when I mentioned the corner store as well? That’s where I would go next. While I’m typing this, I can imagine myself running to the door, jumping down the two or three steps, and briskly walking past the cash. The candy didn’t interest me. I was there for one thing only – comics!
Not just any comics! Only Archie, Veronica, Betty, Jughead and the rest of the gang would do. The Double Digest was like a drug; I loved it! Every night, I would read those comics over and over again until I fell asleep.
I get such a strong sense of nostalgia whenever I see one now in a store at random. And, my excitement for Riverdale on Netflix was over the moon! (At least for the first season; season two did nothing for me. I didn’t even finish the second season.)
I have to tie this up. I’ve gone on long enough. Here’s the recipe. Forget the grill. All you need is your oven and a little patience. Oh, and you’re welcome, Dear Reader. 🙂
INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO PREPARE THIS RECIPE
The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post.
- Pork Ribs – You can use baby pork back ribs or pork spare ribs.
- Vegetable Stock or Broth – I always have vegetable stock on hand, so that is what I used. You can use chicken stock or beef stock.
- Brown Sugar – It will add sweetness and will help to caramelize the ribs.
- Low Sodium Soy Sauce – Use low sodium soy sauce if possible to keep the salt low. If you only have regular soy sauce, use half soy sauce and half water.
- Garlic – You will need 12 cloves of garlic. Finely mince them all.
- Mustard – Classic yellow mustard provides that tart bitterness that is subsided by the brown sugar. It also is partially responsible for that gorgeous deep colour!
- Onion – I use yellow, white, and sweet onions interchangeably. Either of them will do just fine.
- Salt and Ground Black Pepper
HOW TO MAKE COPYCAT CHINESE RESTAURANT DRY GARLIC RIBS
Preheat your oven to 200 degrees F. Layer the ribs on a rimmed baking sheet. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Cover the ribs with foil and bake for 1 hour. In the meantime, prepare the sauce.
In a large bowl, whisk together the broth, brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic, mustard, and onion. Whisk until the brown sugar is completely dissolved. This is the sauce that will be applied to the ribs.
Remove the ribs from the oven and remove the foil. Increase the heat to 350 degrees F. Pour the sauce over the ribs and place the foil back on the baking sheet. Return the ribs to the oven and bake for 1 hour.
Remove from oven and discard the foil. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove the ribs from the oven again and turn each rib over. Bake for 15 minutes. Repeat two more times. Garnish and serve – perfect with steamed rice! It’s a great way to use up the extra sauce!
QUESTIONS?
If I have not answered all of your questions in the text above, don’t hesitate to reach out to me! You can contact me by sending me a message in the comments section further down the page. I will try my best to answer as soon as possible! You might reach me even faster by following me on Facebook and sending me a private message. Scroll down below the recipe card to find my Follow Me on Social Media box and never miss another recipe!
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Copycat Chinese Restaurant Dry Garlic Ribs
Ingredients
- 6 pounds pork ribs, silver skin removed and rack cut into individual pieces*
- 1 1/2 cups broth (any kind will do – beef, chicken, vegetable)
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 12 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup yellow mustard
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees.
- Layer ribs on a rimmed baking sheet. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the broth, brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic, mustard, and onion. Whisk until the brown sugar is completely dissolved.
- Remove ribs from oven and remove the foil. Increase the heat to 350 degrees.
- Pour the sauce over the ribs and place the foil back on the baking sheet. Return to oven and bake for 1 hour.
- Remove from oven and discard the foil. Bake for 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven, and turn each rib over. Bake for 15 minutes.
- Repeat two more times.
- Garnish and serve – perfect with steamed rice! It’s a great way to use up the extra sauce!
Notes
Nutrition
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Maryann says
My husband & I used to get garlic spare ribs all of the time when I lived in Montreal. They look exactly the same! I am going to try this recipe this weekend. They look luscious and I can’t wait to have them again. I will let you know how they turn out. By the way, I moved out of Montreal in 1963! Maryann
Janice says
Were they tender???
Dee says
I made these with a roll of Chinese Ribs and they were delicious and tender. I would use less brown sugar though so that the garlic is more prominent in the recipe. Thank you Byron it is the recipe I was looking for.
Dee says
I also used Low Sodium Vegetable Stock
Shannon says
Question: what kind of broth? If I do pork ribs, I’ve never heard of pork broth… Desperate for proper canadian chinese food ribs. 😍
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Hi Shannon – any kind of broth will do. It isn’t easy to find pork broth, so I will most often use vegetable stock. I just like the flavour of vegetable stock even in meat dishes.
Andy says
Can i scale this recipe in half by chopping all the ingredients in half ?
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Yes, it would absolutely be fine!
Allison says
Is the temperature in Celsius or Fahrenheit?
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Hi Allison – I always use Fahrenheit. 🙂
Tom says
I made this following your recipe. I did add a touch of ginger for some reason. I cooked them a little lower and slower….lots of basting. Total time in oven was 5-1/2 hours/=.
I thought they were good but the family kept rating them “stupendous”.
Charmaine says
I can’t even begin to tell you how much my husband and I loved these ribs. I made them two weekends in a row! I think we’ve developed an addiction. I have bookmarked a number of your recipes and I plan to try each and every one. This weekend will be the Ginger Beef. I’m excited already! I think we have very similar taste in food because I have yet to see one of your recipes that I don’t want to try. You are amazing and I love what you do! I am also addicted to crocheting and anything Christmas. I think I will be visiting here often. Btw, if you ever feel the need to come up with a recipe for the meat paste filling in Canadian egg rolls, please share!! 🙂
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you, Charmaine. So kind of you to say! 🙂 I have a vegetarian spring roll on my site, but have not yet cracked the code for an egg roll filling that resembles those in Canada. It will give me something to work on! 🙂
Hope says
Look for Halifax meat paste egg rolls.. they are only made there.
Natasha says
Put the temp at Celsius and they turned out overcooked and dry , I read later in the comments the temp was for Fahrenheit. So pretty disappointed , the flavour was lovely though .
Adela says
I made these ribs they were good. First time I made them on a cookie sheet with tinfoil and they were super crispy and fabulous, except I had to throw out the cookie sheet after as could not lift the tinfoil off as it was so sticky. Second time I made them in a glass 9 x 13 dish, completely different texture on the ribs not sticky and there is lots of juice left over. Flavour was good but but I miss the stickyness crispiness of the ribs. Can’t afford to keep throwing out cookie sheets though LOL
Katherine says
Hi adela, I’ve had that happen LOTS of times too. Just let very hot water run on it for a bit then soak the pan in hot water…the sugar will dissolve and the foil will peel off.
Marilyn Williams says
Hi there, I used parchment paper, turn out perfect!
Excie says
We ate at Jim’s in Baie Verte a lot too …. with Friday shops with parents and school lunch’s (fries and egg rolls hehe). Love your site going to make your recipe now …. these ribs were my moms favourite.
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you, Excie. 🙂 I’ve only ever heard of your name once, and she was a lady from Middle Arm. Is that you? 🙂
Dericka says
Wanted to give a shout out to a fellow Nflder, these ribs were amazing!!! Thank you!
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you! 🙂
Steve says
Spare ribs or baby back ribs? Any preference?
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Hi Steve – both will work perfectly fine, but personally, I would prefer spare ribs.
Nicky says
I just wanted to say…. i loved the Archie comics as well! i got my daughter reading them and i always smile when i see them in store. I’ve picked up a few too and also so happy for the netflix show… and yet while i get what thwy were doing it wasnt great…
byronethomas@gmail.com says
I was so excited for the Netflix show too, but it wasn’t what I expected.
Miles says
Is there a dipping sauce recipe that goes with this?
Andrew Solarski says
Instead of the first hour in the oven, you can boil the ribs for 30 minutes instead and then you have your fresh pork broth for step 2.
Jodi says
So I have made these ribs almost weekly for months. My family loves them. Am I to drain the juice? I don’t get the basting part as mine are swimming in juice the whole time. What am I doing wrong?
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you, Jodi. 🙂 No, don’t drain the juice. Are you using a large pan so that the juice does not cover the entire rib?
mavee125 says
This Dry Garlic Ribs is so delicious and easy to make. I used San-J Tamari Soy Sauce that I bought at Karman Foods for an added twist of flavor; the whole fam enjoyed it.
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you!
Kam says
I know this recipe was posted quite awhile ago but I just had to say these were AMAZING. I have had this recipe saved for quite awhile and finally got to try it. They turned out perfect. It was a nice change from the smoked ribs we usually do. Thanks so much for sharing it. I loved the story behind it too.
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you so much!
Nanci says
Absolutely amazing recipe. I’lld do it again in a heartbeat, as soon as I buy more ribs..Fantastic
Jody says
These were extremely delicious. I added a half a teaspoon each of ground ginger and ground five spice to the sauce. So good!
Jen says
OMG, love this recipe. It’s takes a little longer in the cooking only, prep is super easy, but’s it’s absolutely worth it. Since finding, my family wants ribs every week! Thank you, they are awesome.
Cillian says
Could you do this recipe with beef ribs?
Marilyn Williams says
These ribs are seriously the best ever. Thank you so much for sharing the recipe with us.
I am wondering if i can prebake them night before and then put back in oven and apply sauce? Just to save some time?
Ginny says
Excellent recipe. I omitted the onion as other similar recipes said it was optional, and local restaurants have never put any onion that i have noticed. I simmered the ribs in the sauce on top of the stove to thicken it a bit, after cooking at 250 deg in the oven until they were tender. They were perfect.
Mary Ann says
great sauce
Elisa Shepherd says
As usual this did not disappoint! This is a dead ringer for restaurant style spare ribs! I have not had restaurant Chinese food since being diagnosed with celiac diseasemin 2012. I used VH soy sauce which is gluten-free and am a real happy camper right now! Thank you! All your recipes are absolutely delicious, I’ve tried many of your recipes and everything turns out each and every time!
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Thank you, Elisa. I’m so glad to hear it! 🙂
Denis St-michel says
Really good. The taste is like chinese restaurants..Thanks for the recipe