From Kit; Adapted from Made with Lau
Notes: I made this with 4 lbs of spare ribs and it took 4 batches of steaming.
Ingredients:
Main Ingredients
- 1 lb pork spare ribs (cut across the bone by the butcher)
- 1 Tbsp dried fermented black bean (Brand: Yang Jiang Preserved Black Beans With Ginger)
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch (for rinsing ribs)
- 3-4 cups boiling water
Marinade (see steps below)
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 tsp ginger, minced
- 2 pieces green onion, chopped
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 Tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
- 1/2 Tbsp Shaoxing wine
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch (for marinade)
Directions:
- Wash and rehydrate black beans
Place our fermented black beans (1 tbsp) in a bowl, and rinse them under running water for 15-20 seconds. Gently massage the beans as you do this. Drain the water, and set the bowl aside to let the beans rehydrate. - Cut spare ribs
Cut the spare ribs (1 lb) between the bones into small pieces (about 1 to 1.5 inches), and place them into a bowl. - Rinse and dry ribs
Add cornstarch (1 Tbsp) to the ribs, and massage the ribs around to evenly mix the cornstarch around the surface of each rib. The cornstarch helps bind to the myoglobin and juices that we're looking to cleanse out. Rinse the ribs in running water for 1 to 2 minutes, massaging the ribs as you go. Pour out all of the water, and squeeze as much liquid as possible out of the ribs before placing the ribs in a new bowl. - Marinate ribs
Prepare the marinade by mixing salt, sugar, light soy sauce, oyster sauce, Shaoxing wine, garlic, and ginger in a separate bowl. Add marinade to the ribs, and mix and massage the bowl of ribs for 45-60 seconds to distribute all of the flavors. Squish the black bean with your fingers, then add the black beans to the ribs and mix / massage the ribs for 20-30 seconds. Add the sesame oil and cornstarch (2 Tbsp; or until liquid is gone), and mix/massage the ribs around for another 60 seconds to evenly coat each rib with cornstarch. Massaging the ribs, i.e. applying a little bit of pressure, helps the meat absorb the flavors and tenderizes the meat a bit. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge to marinate for 6 hours to overnight. - Prepare to steam ribs
Place a steamer rack in the center of a wok. Add enough boiled water so that it just barely covers the entire steamer rack. Transfer the ribs into the plate you'll be steaming with, being careful not to let any ribs be covered by one another. - Cover wok & steam
Carefully place the plate of ribs on top of the steamer rack. Double check to make sure that there's a little bit of water touching the bottom surface of the plate. Cover the wok, set the stove to its highest heat setting, and steam the spare ribs for 25 minutes. - Garnish & enjoy!
After 25 minutes, turn the heat off, uncover the wok, garnish with the green onions, and carefully remove the plate from the wok. Enjoy!