Steamed Spare Ribs with Black Bean Sauce is, in my humble opinion, one of the best and well-known dim sum dishes. We always looked forward to it when we would go to Chinatown for dim sum as kids.
That was, uh…a while ago…but when we’d take my daughters, nieces, and nephews to dim sum, steamed spare ribs was also the first thing they jumped on as the carts started rolling past the table. Here, we have an easy real deal recipe, plus a full video showing you how it’s done!
In addition to being a classic, steamed spare ribs with fermented black beans is also one of the easiest dim sum recipes to make. (See our full roster of dim sum recipes here.)
While it’s not that obvious how to reproduce the flavor, once you check out the ingredients and breeze through making it for the first time, you’ll want to make it all the time! You’ll be amazed at how close these steamed ribs taste to restaurant dim sum. At home, you can even adjust the recipe to your own personal tastes.
Butchers at Asian markets usually sell pork riblets. If you don’t have an Asian market nearby, ask your local butcher to do the same. Or make use of a good Chinese cleaver—just watch your fingers! It’s best not to try this at home unless you have great knife skills. Let the butcher take care of it. If you’re unsure about what to ask for, see our full guide on different cuts of pork ribs here.
Note:
We first published this recipe in December 2014. It has since been updated with a step-by-step video, metric measurements, and clearer instructions. Enjoy!
Video: Cutting Pork Ribs with a Chinese Cleaver
This steamed ribs recipe goes great with pork puffs, potstickers, and Cantonese soy sauce pan fried noodles for a nice dim sum party at home. You can also serve this over rice as a meal, and you’ll have happy campers all around the table. Let’s start!
Dim Sum Steamed Spare Ribs: Recipe Instructions
Wash the ribs in cold water and let soak for 10 minutes. This rinses off any bone fragments and residual blood so the steamed ribs turn out cleaner.
Place the rib pieces, sugar, salt, wine, sesame oil, and white pepper into a bowl. Mix to coat the ribs evenly. Cover and let them marinate in the fridge overnight for best results.
If you have less time, 30 minutes is the minimum marinating time. Add cornstarch and water to the marinated ribs and mix well. With the cornstarch, there should be little or no liquid in the mixture.
Place the ribs on a heatproof plate for steaming. See our post on how to set up a steamer if you’re not familiar with steaming foods in Chinese cooking.
We used small dim sum style plates as you can see in the photos, but you can use a large, shallow heat-proof bowl for the whole batch. Once you plate the ribs, sprinkle the long hot green peppers, long hot red peppers, and the black beans over the top.
Next, bring some water to a simmer in a metal steamer or in a wok with a steaming rack set in the bottom.
Tip! Not sure how to set up a steamer?
See our full post on how to steam food, with a metal steamer, bamboo steamer, or even without special equipment!
Place the plate(s) into your steamer apparatus, cover, and steam for 20 minutes, or until the ribs are opaque and cooked through. If you like your ribs more tender, you can steam them longer. The longer marinating time will also help!
Serve steamed ribs as dim sum or as a delicious one plate meal over rice!
Watch Us Make It!
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Recipe
Dim Sum Steamed Spare Ribs with Black Beans
Ingredients
- 1 pound pork ribs (cut into 1-inch/2.5cm pieces; your butcher can do this for you!)
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt or kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon clear rice wine (mijiu; or Shaoxing wine)
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon water
- 2 tablespoons long hot green peppers (roughly chopped and de-seeded)
- 2 tablespoons long hot red peppers (roughly chopped and de-seeded)
- 1 tablespoon Chinese fermented black beans (rinsed thoroughly)
Instructions
- Wash the ribs in cold water and soak for 10 minutes. This rinses off any bone fragments and residual blood so the steamed ribs turn out cleaner. Place the rib pieces, sugar, salt, wine, sesame oil and white pepper into a bowl and mix until the ribs are coated. Cover and let them marinate in the fridge overnight for best results, or 30 minutes minimum.
- Add cornstarch and water to the marinated ribs and mix well. With the cornstarch, there should be little or no liquid in the mixture. Place the ribs on a heatproof plate for steaming. We used small dim sum style plates as you can see in the photos, but you can use a large, shallow heat-proof bowl for the whole batch. Once you have plated the ribs, sprinkle the peppers and the fermented black beans over the top.
- Next, bring some water to a simmer in a metal steamer or in a wok with a steaming rack set in the bottom. Place the plate(s) into your steamer apparatus, cover, and steam for 20 minutes, or until the ribs are opaque and cooked through. Serve as dim sum or as a delicious one plate meal over rice!
Nutrition Facts
