Year of the Takeout Day 137: China Wok

Spare Ribs from China Wok (199 East 3rd Street, 212-228-5888)

[“Nice rack”–joke lede.]

[Too meta?]

[Huh?]

Anyway, we decided to try out some short ribs from Alphabet City’s China Wok tonight. Now, this specialty has a bit of a history in traditional Chinese and Americanized takeout cuisine. These ribs can come steamed or fried. But in Cantonese cooking, they are commonly a roast meat main. The barbecue-like process is called char siu-style in the province. Yet from what we gather, the sweet-yet-savory sauce present in U.S. cookery does not diverge too much from the original char siu recipes.

Now, this $6.95 serving comes out simply succulent–the moist meat is dressed just enough with a barbecue-esque glaze, so that it retains its inherently rich flavor without feeling too candied.