Chinese Steamed Spareribs With Black Bean Sauce ( 豉汁蒸排骨)

I have ruined my dear friend's, Sharon, dinner by forgetting the "x" sign with the measurements for the Chinese Spice Vinegar Ribs (糖醋排骨) and I feel horrible. I promised I made it up to her. Knowing that Spareribs are her favourite dishes, I am dedicating this post just to her with the hope that she forgives me. Damian's favourite Dim Sum dish is steamed spareribs with black bean sauce .... silly. I can do it at home and it tastes 10 times better as I do it my father's way. He always added a tiny bit of orange peel to it, his secret ingredient - so he claims but boy, is it ever good. He would always make mine in a rice clay pot, so yummy. I love to make it for my boys too, but I don't have a big clay pot to do so .... they are sooo expensive. That is another item on my list I would love to purchase ... a traditional Chinese clay pot. My father prefers the one made in Japan, as the workmanship is better. Have you ever seen the prices on them ? CRAZY !!!! Mother's Day is around the corner, maybe I should slotter my boy's piggy bank and have them buy it for me !!!

Chinese Steamed Spareribs With Black Bean Sauce

( 豉汁蒸排骨)

1.5 - 2 lbs pork spareribs (rib tips)
2 tablespoons fermented black beans, smash it with the end of your knife handle to release the flavour(I like the Yang Jiang Brand of black beans)
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon minced ginger/garlic mixture

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cooking oil
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon minced cilantro/green onion mixture
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon grated orange peel
Optional – sliced jalepeno peppers to taste

Step 1:
Cut the spareribs crosswise into 1″ – 2″ sections or have the butcher do it for you when purchasing them. If you go to a Chinese butcher, tell them you need it for steaming, trust me they know what to do. Combine the rest of the ingredients. Transfer spareribs and sauce into a shallow, heatproof pan that will fit inside your wok (a pie plate or 9” cake pan works great). Marinate for an hour or overnight, if you happen to make too much, you can freeze half the batch for later use.

Step 2:
Set steaming rack inside of wok and fill with water almost up to height of rack. Turn heat to high and when water is boiling, turn heat to medium-high. Set pan with spareribs on top of a steaming rack in wok. Steam on med-high heat for 18-20 minutes until ribs are no longer pink. Make sure that when you are steaming that you don’t run out of water in the wok. Replenish with additional water, if needed.

Enjoy !!