This Chinese braised spare rib soup is not a traditional dish, but rather a variation on a dish that my fiance grew up with. His parents would make a simple braised rib dish that would be served over rice. It was his childhood comfort food. As he got older, he wanted to appreciate a greater depth of flavor and set out to improve the homestyle dish he grew up with.
When I first tasted it, I fell in love with the flavorful broth. Eating it over rice reminded me of a Thai dish I grew up with. But since the broth was so flavorful, I wanted to try this out as a noodle soup.
Making this Chinese spare rib soup
There really isn’t much to this recipe. You just add water and spices and simmer for a really long time. As for the hard boiled eggs, I wondered how you could hard boil an egg, simmer it for 50 minutes, and not overcook it. My fiance just said “I don’t know it just doesn’t.”
You will notice though that these hard boiled eggs are hard boiled. Not soft boiled like in ramen dishes. The eggs will have slits cut into them, through the white part and just until it hits the yolk. This way the egg absorbs the broth. The eggs must be hard boiled to ensure that the yolk won’t leak out.
Noodle Types
As for the noodles, I love Lanzhou noodles. They are sold in the refrigerated section of Asian grocery stores. They are packed in little serving size bunches, so basically they’re already portioned out. Feel free to use any type of noodle you like.
I also blanch some vegetables and add them to the dish. Baby bok choy is my favorite.
Looking for other soup recipes?
If you want another Asian noodle soup, try my yellow curry noodle soup.
Looking for other soup recipes?
Chinese Spare Rib Soup
Ingredients
- 3 lbs spare ribs
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 4 tablespoons shoaxing wine
- 4 green onions (whites and greens separated and chopped)
- 1 inch long piece of ginger root, sliced into 1/4” discs
- 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 1/2 cup light soy sauce
- 1/4 cup dark soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon five spice powder
- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper powder
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 6 hard boiled eggs
- Bok choy (or other Chinese vegetables for serving)
- Lanzhou noodles (or any type of noodle)
Instructions
- In a large stock pot, heat the oil on medium heat. Sear the ribs 2 minutes per side.
- Add shoaxing wine. Add water until ribs are just covered. Bring to boil, skim off all foamy scum that forms at the top for the first 10 minutes.
- Add the white parts of the green onions, ginger, garlic, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, five spice, white pepper powder, and sugar. Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes.
- Gently make two slits in the white part of the hard boiled eggs. Make them on opposite sides and don't cut into the yolk. Add the eggs to the pot. Continue simmering for another 50 minutes, or until the ribs are at desired tenderness.
To Serve
- Boil water in a medium sized pot. Cook 6 servings of noodles according to package instructions. Remove and place into serving bowls. Blanch 6 servings of bok choy for 2 minutes. Separate into serving bowls. Spoon broth, ribs, and eggs into each bowl. Garnish with the green parts of the green onions.