Steamed Pork Ribs with Black Bean Sauce 豉汁蒸排骨
These small-cut pork ribs are called “riblets “or “pork ribs, sweet and sour cut”.Using a baking soda brine and then rinsing with water is what makes this dim sum or restaurant style. This method will make the texture very velvety smooth, but the natural flavour and juice of the meat will be lost. Ignore these 2 steps, and you can make a home-style Steamed Pork Ribs with Black Bean Sauce.
Approximate cost (CAD) $7
Ingredients
- 500 g Pork riblets
- 15 g Fermented black beans
- 4 cloves Garlic
- 1 Thai chili (or any chili)
- 1 tbsp Oyster sauce
- 1 tsp Sugar
- 2 tsp Light soy sauce
- 3 tsp Cornstarch
- 1 tsp Baking soda
- 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
- ¼ tsp White pepper powder
- 1 stalk Green onions
- 2 tsp White vinegar
- 1 tsp Salt
- 2 tsp Oil
Instructions
- Clean and rinse off bone fragments from riblets.
- Put the riblets into a mixing bowl, add water to cover the riblets, add 1 tsp salt and 2 tsp white vinegar. Mix well. Soak for 30 minutes.
The salt will remove unwanted odours and impurities from the meat and the vinegar will help the meat loosen from the bone after steaming 
- Toast fermented black beans in a toaster oven or in a wok for 3 minutes or until aromatic. Do not add oil
Replacing fermented black beans with black bean sauce will not give you restaurant dim sum style and you’ll need to adjust the other ingredients in the marinade - Mince 4 cloves of garlic and set aside
- Wash green onions. Cut into 2-3 sections and smash it with the side of your cleaver. Set aside
You may want to chop up some of the green parts and save it as a garnish for after steaming - Mince chili and set aside
- After 30 minutes in the brine, rinse the ribs three times to remove the salt and vinegar. Squeeze the ribs with your hands to remove excess water.
Omit steps 8 and 9 if you do not want Dim Sum Style Put the riblets into a mixing bowl. Add water to cover all the riblets and add 1 tsp baking soda. Mix well and soak for 2 hours 
- After 2 hours, rinse off baking soda by running water onto the ribs for 5 minutes squeeze out excess water
- Let dry in a colander for 30 minutes or absorb with paper towels
Riblets should be quite light in colour as most of the blood has been rinsed away. Riblets need to be quite dry so that they can absorb the marinade better resulting in more flavourful meat 
- Marinate the riblets with 1 tbsp Oyster sauce, 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine, 2 tsp light soy sauce, 2 tsp cornstarch, 1 tsp sugar, ¼ tsp white pepper powder, minced garlic, fermented black beans and green onions.
- Use your hand to squeeze the riblets and mix it around to help the riblets absorb all the marinade. Do this for 2-3 minutes
- Put everything into a zipper bag and put in the fridge to marinate for at least 3 hours. You may also choose to marinate overnight in the fridge
- After the marinating period, pour contents of the zipper bag into a mixing bowl. Discard the green onion and mix again
- Add 1 tsp cornstarch and mix well
- Add 2 tsp oil and mix well
- Put everything onto a steaming plate, top with chopped chilis and steam on high heat for 10-15 minutes or until done
steaming time will depend on how big your riblets are. Riblets from Chinese butchers will generally be smaller in size than from a western butcher 
- Add green onions for garnish and serve
Nutrition
Calories: 294kcalCarbohydrates: 5gProtein: 15gFat: 23gSaturated Fat: 7gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 70mgSodium: 1368mgPotassium: 245mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 39IUVitamin C: 3mgCalcium: 25mgIron: 1mg
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