The reunion dinner on Lunar New Year’s Eve (團圓飯)is considered the most important family dinner of year for Chinese families. Sweet and sour pork ribs is one of my favourite dishes while growing up. Usually it involves caramelising rock sugar (炒糖色) to give the ribs a shiny appearance and a mellow, delicate flavour. However, the technique is not always beginner-friendly. I’ve failed many times over the years so I decided to skip it this time and made a simpler version.