Pork Baby Back Ribs with Fermented Bean Curd (Fu6 Jyu5 Paai4 Gwat1, 腐乳排骨)

This recipe is a classic Cantonese-style steamed pork dish using pork ribs and fermented bean curd, with a notable twist to the recipe – using the whole pork baby back rib instead of using cut 1- to 2-inch rib pieces. Marinating the ribs is also not usually done in the classic recipe, so feel free to omit this step if you’re in a hurry to make and eat this dish!

The number of pork ribs used in this recipe is governed by the size of the plate than can be placed into the steamer. You want to have one layer of individual ribs in the plate with the topping. The baby back rib is the right size to fit into the steamer plate for cooking and for eating. You can of course use cut ribs (just pile them in the plate!) in this recipe instead of whole baby back ribs, but normal pork ribs are not recommended since they would be too big to fit into the steaming plate and to eat.

For this recipe, ½ of the baby back pork rib rack was used, about 7 ribs. The whole rack was cut into individual ribs, marinated, and then used in two recipes. The first being, Pork Baby Back Ribs with Black Bean and Garlic, whose recipe can be found here, and this recipe. Both recipes are classic Cantonese steamed dishes except for the use of the whole baby back rib.

Enjoy!

Pork Ingredients

½ rack Pork Baby Back Ribs (paai⁴ gwat¹, 排骨), about 7 individual cut ribs

½-inch knob of Ginger (goeng¹, 薑),  crushed with a garlic press

2 Garlic Cloves (syun³, 蒜), crushed with a garlic press

1 Tbs. Corn Starch (suk¹ fan², 粟粉)

1 Tbs. Soy Sauce (si⁶ jau⁴, 豉油)

1 Tbs. Shaoxing Rice Wine (siu⁶ hing¹ zau², 紹興酒) or Dry Sherry

1 tsp. (or to taste) ground White Pepper (baak⁶ wu⁴ ziu¹, 白胡椒)

1 tsp. Sesame Oil (maa⁴ jau⁴, 麻油)

Topping Ingredients

3 cubes Fermented Bean Curd (fu⁶ jyu⁵, 腐乳), crushed

½-inch knob Ginger (goeng¹, 薑), crushed in a garlic press

1 tsp. Shaoxing Rice Wine (siu⁶ hing¹ zau², 紹興酒) or Dry Sherry

Other Ingredients

1 can (15 oz., 7.4 oz. drained) Oyster Mushrooms, drained

Preparation and Cooking Instructions

1. Cut the rack of baby back ribs into individual ribs and place the ribs into a bowl to be marinated. Marinating the ribs is optional; do so by adding the crushed ginger and garlic, corn starch, soy sauce, Shaoxing Rice Wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil to the ribs. Mix the marinate and coat each rib thoroughly. Marinate for at least one hour or overnight.
2. Prepare the topping by crushing the fermented bean curd cubes, and then mixing it with the crushed ginger in a small bowl. Add enough Shaoxing Rice Wine or dry sherry to the topping ingredients to form a paste in the small bowl.
3. Arrange the pork baby back ribs in one layer in a steaming plate (about 7 or ½ of a rack ribs). Arrange the oyster mushrooms around the perimeter of the plate. Spread the topping ingredients on top of the ribs.
4. Add water and bring the steamer to a boil on high heat. Put the steaming plate into the steamer and steam for 5 minutes on high heat. Reduce the heat and simmer for another 45 minutes.
5. Remove the cooked dish from the steamer and serve with steamed rice.