Easy Tausi Pork Ribs

Last week, I started to have a craving for Lo Mai Fan (Glutinous Rice with Chinese Sausage) and found a blog of recipes of homemade Chinese food. While browsing, I found a recipe for Steamed Black Bean Pork Short Ribs here, and I suddenly felt myself salilvating for some good old Tausi Spareribs. Looking at the recipe, it didn't seem so difficult. I always thought that it was a difficult dish to make, having eaten Tausi Spareribs only in dimsum places.

So, on my most recent trip to S&R, I looked for pork spareribs, but unfortunately, they were out, and I just contented myself with the next best thing, Baby Back Ribs, about 2.75 kilos worth, instead. The next morning, I started work on the Tausi Pork by slicing them, rubbed in some baking soda, and covering the ribs with water for 2 hours.

Next I drained the pork, and added some soy sauce, sugar, chopped garlic AND two chopped siling labuyo (bird's eye chili), seeds removed. I also added in some rinsed and chopped/mashed black beans (known locally as tausi). I did not leave this to marinate, which, in hindsight, I should have. So, note to self, next time, marinate this so the flavors can infuse the meat, especially when using a thicker, meatier cut such as baby back ribs. Also, don't rinse the black beans too much.

At this point, I was so into steaming the pork I totally forgot about coating them in cornstarch. I just steamed them in two batches for about 20-25 minutes each. Upon tasting the cooked meat, I found that it needed a little more salt, and I also remembered that I forgot to coat them in cornstarch. I realized I must have rinsed the black beans too much, as they did not impart the saltiness I expected. I was subject to a dish cooked with unrinsed black beans before, and it was so salty as to be nearly inedible. So I can be anal with rinsing black beans..

I then removed the cooked ribs to another platter, and boiled the remaining "juices" from the steaming to concentrate the flavor. I also added salt and a cornstarch slurry to make up for not putting cornstarch before. Once the sauce tasted right, I put back the ribs to coat, turned off the heat, and served them on a platter with a garnish of chopped green onions.

They turned out very well, if I do say so myself. But they do taste even better after several days in the fridge! Yes, I knew I made too much so I moved some to a covered container and kept it in the fridge.

I'm so glad I know how to make this now. It's not so difficult at all!