The Taro Steamed Spare Ribs My Dad's Made 100,000 Times
Why this recipe
Most taro steamed spare ribs recipes online are tested only a handful of times. My dad used to make this dish multiple times a day, every day, for 50 years and can make this in his sleep.
I know you'll love it as much as our community does! This recipe has over 286.6K views, 5.4K likes on YouTube.
Taro spare ribs meld the happy flavors of taro, spare ribs, and fermented black beans together in a warm, delicious combination.
The layered ingredients result in an aromatic steam wafting up and amazing sauces running down, each component absorbing flavor from its neighbor.
Taro all the time
As a tropical plant, taro has traditionally been a seasonal option.
Nowadays, you can often find it year-round. If not, they even have frozen taro available, so you can make this classic Cantonese dish whenever you want!
If you can't get your hands on one, or if you'd prefer to make this without taro, steamed spare ribs with the same black bean sauce was actually one of our first recipes. You can check that out here!
Ingredients
Instructions
Rinse & soak black beans
Rinse the dried fermented black beans (0.50 oz) 3 times. Then, let it soak in the water to rehydrate for at least 5 minutes. We like to use warm water to help the water really soak in.
Prepare the spare ribs
Peel the tough white membrane off the spare ribs (1 lb) by making a small cut at the end, between the membrane and the meat, and pulling it away from the meat. This will make the ribs less tough.
Cut the ribs into bite size pieces, and place them in a bowl. If you like, you can wash or soak them as well.
Marinate the ribs
We'll start making the marinade by mixing together cornstarch (2 tbsp), salt (0.50 tsp), sugar (1 tsp), oyster sauce (1 tbsp), light soy sauce (1 tbsp), dark soy sauce (0.50 tsp), baking soda (1 tsp), cooking wine (1 tbsp), water (2 tbsp), and white pepper (0.25 tsp) in a separate bowl. Baking soda is the secret for tender, juicy spare ribs!
Smash and mince ginger (1 slice) and garlic (2 clove). Also, mince the rehydrated dried mandarin peel (1 piece), which will make the dish even more fragrant. Add these to the marinade along with sesame oil (1 tsp), and then pour it over the spare ribs and mix it all up.
Set aside to marinate for half an hour to an hour.
Prepare taro
We'll carefully cut around the taro with our knife to score the slice where we want to cut it, so we end up with taro (1 lb). Once there's a path for the knife to drive safely down, we'll chop deep into the taro and split the slice off.
Lay the slice down flat and use the knife to cut the skin off in segments. Wash the slice of taro with water, and then lay it flat again on the cutting surface.
Cut the taro into slices, and then cubes. We'll end up with 1-2 inch cubes.
Put the taro in the dish we'll use for steaming. Toss the taro with light soy sauce (1 tbsp) so it's evenly mixed. Make sure to arrange the taro so that it fully layers the bottom of the dish, ready to receive the delicious sauce and juices from the pork.
Chop scallions & chili
We'll dice up green onion (2 stalk) and red chili pepper, and then put them aside.
Steam ribs & taro
Take half of the rehydrated fermented black beans and crush them with the back of a spoon. Mix the crushed beans into the ribs.
Add vegetable oil (1 tbsp) into the ribs and mix. This will help keep the meat smooth and juicy.
Spread the ribs over the plate of taro. To ensure even and thorough coverage, lay the ribs along the edge of the plate first. Then pour the rest into the middle and spread them out.
Take the rest of the fermented black beans that are still whole, and spread them over the ribs. Add the chopped red chili pepper on top for both fragrance and a pop color.
Place a steam rack into a pan, and fill it with water until it just covers the steam rack. When the water comes to a boil, place the dish inside and steam for 20 minutes on high heat.
Garnish & plate
The taro is cooked through when a chopstick can pierce through easily, just like a baked potato. Turn off the heat, and carefully remove the dish from the pan. The steam is hot!
Garnish by sprinkling the chopped green onion over top, and it's ready to serve!