Steamed Spare Ribs With Black Bean Sauce

Intermediate
Written By Rosy Zhong

Steamed spare ribs, or 豉汁蒸排骨(chǐzhī zhēng páigǔ), is one of my favorite dishes to have whenever I eat dim sum. Dim sum is a style of Chinese cuisine where many different small plates of food are eating, with the most common dishes being many different types of dumplings and buns. Spare ribs are one of my dad’s favorite dim sum dishes, and probably my favorite too. I didn’t really eat them until I was around 15 years old, but they quickly became the one I most looked forward too.

This preparation of spare ribs has been around for centuries, and was a popular dish among Chinese Peasants. It has evolved to become a fan-favorite dim sum food. The most important part of preparation for this dish is rinsing and marinating. rinsing helps remove the myoglobin from the ribs, giving them a brownish-gray color instead of the normal pink color. While rinsing with water works well, it is best to use sodium carbonate or baking soda, since they have a higher ph than water, helping denature the myoglobin, making the ribs more tender. You can make your baking soda into sodium carbonate by heating it in an over for an hour in a 200 degree oven. Temperature above 176 Fahrenheit causes the sodium bicarbonate do decompose into sodium carbonate, water, and carbon dioxide. The water evaporates, and you are left with sodium carbonate. Coat the ribs in the sodium carbonate, let it sit for a little, and then rinse it out again. The defining aspect of this dish is the black bean sauce, made from fermented black soybeans. They are salty and umami, giving the spare ribs their signature flavor.

Ingredients:

  • Spare ribs (cut across the rib)

  • Scallions(for garnish)

  • Baking soda

For the Marinade:

  • Oyster Sauce

  • Black fermented soybeans

  • Garlic

  • Ginger

  • Sesame oil

  • Shaoxing cooking wine

  • Cornstarch

  • Soy Sauce

Steps:

  • Cut the ribs into individual pieces

  • Optional: heat baking soda in an oven for an hour at 200 degrees Farenheit

  • Wash the ribs, rinsing with water, sprinkling with sodium (bi)carbonate, and then rinsing again

  • Combine all the ingredients of the marinade, and add the washed ribs

  • Let marinate for anywhere from 30 minutes to a few hours

  • Put the ribs into a bowl and steam for 30 mintues or until fully cooked, either using a bamboo steamer or a steamer basket

  • Enjoy!

Rosy Zhong
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