Salted Black Bean Spareribs were one of my childhood favorites. The spareribs are cut Chinese-style into bite size pieces, which lets the marrow free to seep into the sauce. My grandma made these often. She stewed the spareribs until the marrow, cartilage, and connective tissue broke down into unctuous saucy goodness and the meat was falling off the bone. After eating her version, I was never able to order black bean spareribs at a Chinese restaurant, because while those had the same salty garlicky flavor, they never stewed them long enough to get that tender buttery texture.
Guessipe
- 2-3 lbs pork spareribs, chopped
- 2 TBSP olive oil
- 7 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/4 cup salted black beans, mashed
- 2 TBSP soy sauce
- 1 tsp garlic salt
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 2 TBSP corn starch mixed with 2 TBSP water
Chinese spareribs are often cut into bite-size pieces. If you buy spareribs at the Asian market, the butcher will cut them across the bone for you, so that when you get home you can just do the easy job of cutting between the bones.
Boil a large pot of water. Pour in the ribs and simmer 15 minutes. Strain and rinse with cold water.
Cook the garlic and black bean in the olive oil until the garlic starts to brown.
Add the ribs, soy sauce, garlic salt, and chicken broth. Simmer 30 minutes. Taste and add more soy sauce and garlic salt as needed. Simmer another 20 minutes until the spareribs are so tender the meat is falling off the bone.
Turn the heat up to keep the liquid boiling while you add the cornstarch and water slurry. This thickens the sauce to a nice gravy. Keep stirring as you gradually add the slurry – stop adding when the sauce reaches your preferred thickness – you may not need to use up all of the slurry.
I served these spareribs on a bed of stir-fried cabbage. They are also great on rice, which serves as a vehicle to get more of the unctuous sauce into your face.