Name: Garlic-Stewed Sparerib Nuggets (豆豉排骨)
Yield: Serves 4–5 as a main course, 6–10 as part of a multicourse meal.
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 2–2¼ pounds lean, meaty spareribs, trimmed of extraneous fat and meatless bone (weight after trimming), cut crosswise through the bone into 1–1¼-inch nuggets on a butcher’s electric saw (see directions below if you need to cut them yourself); 1 cup hot water; 2 teaspoons sugar; ½–¾ teaspoon dried red chili flakes; 2 tablespoons corn or peanut oil; 3½ tablespoons Chinese salted black beans (not the variety seasoned with five-spice powder); 2 tablespoons thin (regular) soy sauce; 3–4 tablespoons thin-cut green and white scallion rings; 5–6 large, hard cloves garlic, stem end removed, lightly smashed and peeled

Preparation info

Serves
4–5
as a main course .

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking

By Barbara Tropp

Published 1982

About

This is one of my cold-weather favorites—a cozy, northern-style potful of sparerib nuggets, garlic, and Chinese black beans, stewed for hours until the meat falls from the bones and the sauce turns rich and ambrosial. It is a very simple dish with an earthy character I find immensely appealing. You may add the optional chili flakes and scallion rings for a central Chinese touch, or include some chunky vegetables—½ pound fresh broccoli flowerets, or ½ pound of