Meat

Yat Zi Paai (HK-style Pork Rib Strip)

A Hong Kong market rib cut sold as one intact elongated strip with several joined parallel bones and attached meat.

One raw uncut Yat Zi Paai with several parallel ribs joined in an elongated strip — Identification illustration; actual appearance may vary.

3 identity clues

One intact elongated uncut strip
Several parallel ribs remain joined
Meat connects the bone row

Reading language:

Names in other languages

繁體中文: 一字排（一字排骨）
English: Yat Zi Paai (HK-style Pork Rib Strip)
Bahasa Indonesia: Yat Zi Paai / HK-style Pork Rib Strip (一字排) — iga babi yang dijual utuh memanjang menurut potongan pasar Hong Kong
Tagalog: Yat Zi Paai / HK-style Pork Rib Strip (一字排) — tadyang ng baboy na ibinebenta bilang isang buo at pahabang piraso ayon sa hiwa sa pamilihan ng Hong Kong

Name in Cantonese (Jyutping): jat1 zi6 paai4

What is it?

Yat Zi Paai is a Hong Kong market-cut name, not a claimed one-to-one Western anatomical cut; its defining scope is the intact strip presentation.

How to identify it

Look for one uncut rib strip with several parallel bones joined by meat; once chopped into small pieces, the image alone cannot prove it was Yat Zi Paai.

Common confusion

This item

Yat Zi Paai (HK-style Pork Rib Strip)

One intact elongated uncut strip
Several parallel ribs remain joined
Meat connects the bone row

Compare

Pork Spareribs

A repeated row of rib bones
Meat and some fat attached to bone
Sold as slab or chopped pieces

Compare

Pork Loin Ribs

Thicker pork over the ribs
Ribs remain parallel
Cut face shows meat, fat and bone

How to identify it

Yat Zi Paai is identified by the intact joined strip; generic spareribs may be loose pieces, while loin ribs emphasize a thicker meat cap.

Common Hong Kong household uses

Confirm the dish, quantity and cut with the employer before preparation, then cook thoroughly.

Choosing & preparing

Keep raw meat separate from cooked food, use separate boards and knives, wash hands and contact surfaces, and cook the centre to at least 75°C for 30 seconds.

Storage

Keep covered on the lowest refrigerator shelf at 4°C or below and thaw frozen meat only in the refrigerator or microwave. Contain a leaking package and clean contaminated surfaces; leakage alone is not used here as a spoilage test.

Helper tip

Ask the butcher to show the intact strip before chopping; do not substitute generic rib cubes.

What Ma’am or Sir may say

買一條一字排，睇完先斬件。

The employer wants to see the intact Yat Zi Paai before it is chopped.

Useful market phrase

唔該俾我睇一字排，之後先斬。

Meaning: Please show me the Yat Zi Paai (HK-style Pork Rib Strip) before chopping it.

Does the image look correct?

Last reviewed: 2026-08-24

Sources (7)