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Black Bean Spare Ribs Recipe
Guest Writer: Appetite for China
Today, I am very pleased to have Diana Kuan of Appetite for China as a guest writer on Rasa Malaysia. Based in Beijing, Diana is a freelance writer and cooking instructor specializing in Chinese food recipes; she has also written for The Boston Globe, Food & Wine, and other publications. Please welcome Appetite for China as she shares her recipe of spicy black bean spare ribs recipe with us.
In Chinese cooking, there are few ingredients more versatile than fermented black beans. You can use it to flavor steamed fish, eggplant, or one of my favorite Sichuan dishes, twice-cooked pork. It has a pungent, earthy aroma; a spoonful of black beans packs so much flavor you often don’t need additional salt. One way to use fermented black beans is to buy them whole, rinse them under cold water, and chop them up. Of course, it’s also easy to find prepared black bean sauce at a local Chinese market. My latest obsession is chili black bean sauce. I keep a small bottle in the fridge and pull it out whenever I need a reliable sauce at the last minute…(get spicy black bean spare ribs recipe after the jump)
Have you ever had steamed spare ribs at a Chinese dim sum restaurant? Yes, those little juicy ribs in the bamboo steamer, covered with with a dark garlicky sauce that everyone’s chopsticks fight for. No matter how good they taste, have you ever wondered how much better they would be pan-fried, with a spicier sauce? These spare ribs take only 15 minutes to cook, and the ingredients require little chopping. The brown sugar add a tinge of sweetness to compliment the black beans and chili oil. And be sure to have rice handy; you’ll need it to sop up the addictive sauce.
Serves 4 as part of a multi-course meal
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon vegetable or peanut oil
1 1/2 pounds pork spare ribs, cut to 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 medium-sized leek, thinly sliced
White sesame seeds for garnish, optional
Thinly sliced scallions or leeks for garnish, optional
Sauce:
3 tablespoons spicy black bean sauce (or 2 tablespoons black bean sauce with 1/2 tablespoon chili oil)
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon Chinese rice wine
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 cup water
Method:
Mix together ingredients for the sauce. Set aside.
In a wok or frying pan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add spare ribs and stir-fry until brown on all sides, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add ginger, garlic, and leeks and cook until aromatic, about 1 minute. Pour in sauce mixture. Cover with a lid and simmer for about 10 minutes. Sauce should be reduced enough to coat the spare ribs. Transfer to serving plate, garnish with optional sesame seeds and scallions, and serve with rice.
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{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve missed eating this. My dad used to make this all the time. Thanks for reminding me what a tasty dish it is. I’ve always had my fix from a chinese dimsum cart and you are right that it’d be so much better pan-fried.
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I love black beans spare ribs, in fact, I love anything made with fermented black beans. I didn’t know it’s so easy to make this at home. I always think of this as something that would take me the whole day. Any idea how dim sum restaurant make the spare rib so tender?
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Oh, this is one of my favorite things to order in a Chinese restaurant! They looks so wonderful! I can’t wait to try this for myself.
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I am definitely going to be making this.
Thanks for bringing these amazing writers to us Bee.
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Rasa Malaysia replied:
Cynthia - of course, I love having guest writers on Rasa Malaysia–fresh ideas, recipes, why not?
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I love black bean spare ribs, and this is one of my favorites, however my wife doesn’t eat pork so she doesn’t make it for me. Fermented black beans with spare ribs is a Chinese classic, steamed or stir-fried, they are all good.
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I’ve just been to a lovely breakfast with friends, but one look at this photo and my mouth was watering!!! WOW I love that sauce you’ve made!!!!
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I love pork ribs with black bean sauce. I can eat my rice with just the black bean sauce…very sweet because of the pork ribs. Hungry.
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I am a Muslim so I don’t eat pork. Can I use chicken for this black bean sauce recipe? If so, which part of chicken will be good? How long do I need to make it?
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yum, need to try this recipe
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This reminds me how much I love spareribs in black bean sauce. Thanks! Now, I have to search your site to see if you have a recipe for chicken feet in black bean sauce.
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Just tried this out - the ribs tasted good after infused with the black bean sauce. At the end of the simmer, the sauce had stick to my wok, not sure if its due to the corn flour or I din stir during the process ? So no sauce left for rice :( Anyway, thanks for the great recipe !
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Hello. Thank you for the recipe. This will become a regular on our dining table.
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Rasa Malaysia replied:
Steve - thank you. I am sure I have more than this one dish making your regular dinning pleasure :)
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