Braised Pork Spareribs with Salted Black Beans (豆豉燴排骨, Dau6 Si6 Wui6 Paai4 Gwat1)

 

This recipe was updated on 07 Sep 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed.

This is another favorite dish of mine. Pork spareribs, black beans, Shiitake mushrooms, and long beans make a great combination when combined into one dish. If cooked correctly, the pork spareribs are tender, the long beans are crunchy, and the Shiitake mushrooms flavorful.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 lb.	500 g.	Pork spareribs (排骨, paai4 gwat1) already cut into 1- (2.5 cm.) to 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Baking soda (蘇打粉, sou1 daa2 fan2)
½ in.	15 mm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), crushed in a garlic press
2 cloves	2 cloves	Garlic (蒜, syun3), crushed in a garlic press
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Corn starch (粟粉, suk1 fan2)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Soy sauce (豉油, si6 jau4)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Hoisin sauce (海鮮醬, hoi2 sin1 zoeng3)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)
1 lb.	500 g.	Long beans (豆角, dau6 gok3), cut into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces
10	10	Dried Shiitake mushrooms (冬菇, dung1 gu1), rehydrated and cut into quarters
1	1	Red pepper (紅椒, hung4 ziu1), cut into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces
		Oil for cooking

 

Sauce Ingredients

½+ cup	125+ ml.	Shiitake mushroom rehydration liquid or chicken stock (雞湯, gai1 tong1)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Salted black beans (豆豉, dau6 si6), washed and crushed
½ in.	15 mm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), minced
6 cloves	6 cloves	Garlic (蒜, syun3), minced
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Soy sauce (豉油, si6 jau4)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Hoisin sauce (海鮮醬, hoi2 sin1 zoeng3)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
½ Tbs.	7.5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Corn starch (粟粉, suk1 fan2)
4 Tbs.	60 ml.	Water

 

Equipment

6 qt.

5.7 L.

Dutch oven

 

Preparation Instructions

1. The pork spareribs can be purchased already cut into 1- (2.5 cm.) to 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces or have your butcher cut the spareribs into pieces for you. Wet with water and add the baking soda to the pork, allow to tenderize for 15 minutes, and then wash the baking soda from the meat. The baking soda can be omitted but results in the tender meat experienced in restaurant dishes.
2. Marinate the pork in a covered container for at least one hour or overnight in the refrigerator with the ginger and garlic crushed in a garlic press, corn starch, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. If marinating the pork overnight, take it out of the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking.
3. Pour boiling water over the dried Shiitake mushrooms in a heat proof bowl and rehydrate the mushrooms for at least one hour. Remove the Shiitake mushrooms from the rehydration liquid, remove the stems, and cut them into quarters. Reserve the rehydration liquid for later use in the cooking process.
4. Wash and cut the long beans into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces.
5. Wash and cut the red bell pepper into ½- (15 mm.) x 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces. First cut off the ends of the bell pepper, leaving an open cylinder. Remove the seeds and central core of the bell pepper and make one cut lengthwise to open the cylinder. Flatten the open bell pepper cylinder and cut ½-inch (15 mm.) wide by 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces.
6. Wash and crush the salted black beans in a small bowl. The traditional way to crush the salted black beans is to use the base of the handle of a Chinese cleaver, but you can use any method that’s available to you. Finely mince the ginger and garlic, and add it to the bowl. A prepared bottled sauce can be substituted, such as the Lee Kum Kee brand Black Bean Garlic Sauce.
7. Prepare and mix the sauce in another small bowl: add the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. In another small bowl, prepare the corn starch slurry by mixing the corn starch and water together.

Cooking Instructions

1. Remove as much of the marinade from the spareribs as possible to facilitate browning. Add oil and heat a Dutch oven or other covered pot over medium to medium-high heat. When the oil begins to shimmer, add the pork sparerib pieces to the Dutch oven in a single layer on the bottom and brown the outside. You may have to cook the spareribs in batches, so be sure to reheat the Dutch oven before adding more oil. Return all the spareribs to the Dutch oven.
2. Add the black bean ingredients to the pork spareribs in the Dutch oven and briefly stir fry. Add the Shiitake mushrooms to the Dutch oven and mix the ingredients together. Add the sparerib marinade, sauce ingredients and then the mushroom soaking liquid to the Dutch oven. Adjust the amount of liquid so that the spareribs and mushrooms are just covered. Add water or chicken stock if more liquid is required. Mix the ingredients together and scrape any browned bits from the sides of the Dutch oven into the liquid. Cover the Dutch oven, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 30-45 minutes.
3. Add the long beans, the bell pepper, and corn starch slurry to the Dutch oven. Mix all the ingredients together, bring to a boil over high heat to thicken the sauce, and then lower the heat to simmer for another 5 minutes or until the long beans are just cooked through and still crunchy. Turn off the heat and transfer the contents to a serving bowl and serve with steamed rice.