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Chinese Steamed Pork Ribs with Kabocha Squash 豉汁南瓜蒸排骨

Name: Chinese Steamed Pork Ribs with Kabocha Squash 豉汁南瓜蒸排骨
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 35 min
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 1 lbs Pork Ribs, cut into bite-sized pieces; 1 Whole Kabocha Squash, cubed; 5 Cloves of Fresh Garlic, rough chopped; 100 g Whole Black Beans; 1 Dried Chinese Mandarin Peel, julienne (optional); 4 Slices of Fresh Ginger; 1 tsp Kosher Salt; Generous amount of Finely Chopped Green Onions for garnish; Generous amount of Fresh Cilantro for garnish; 2 tbsp Shaoxing Wine; 2 tsp Brown Sugar; 1 tsp Dark Soy Sauce; 1 tsp Light Soy Suace; 1 tsp Oyster Sauce; 2 tbsp Corn starch; 3 to 4 tbsp Lee Kum Kee Black Bean Garlic Sauce

Oct 14, 2022 · 110 Comments

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豉汁南瓜蒸排骨 Chinese Steamed Pork Ribs with Kabocha Squash and Black Bean Sauce is a classic Cantonese absolute favourite. This dim sum Chinese restaurant dish is quick and easy to make at home. Simply layer the bottom of the dish with Japanese pumpkin and pork spare ribs and top with black bean garlic sauce - In just 20 minutes, you'll enjoy juicy, tender ribs!

After perfecting these homey and comforting recipes like Fish Paste Stuffed Peppers, Steamed Minced Pork with Salted Fish Cake, and Braised Beef Briskets and Tendons, making the delicious juicy pork spareribs with whole black beans and pumpkin squash recipe was on my mind! After all, this sparerib dish is an absolute favourite menu item at dim sum restaurants! I could quickly eat 3 bowls of jasmine white rice with these dishes!

Check out this quick story summary of our recipe!

> In This Post: Everything You'll Need For Dim Sum Steamed Pork Ribs with Kabocha Squash

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> In This Post: Everything You'll Need For Dim Sum Steamed Pork Ribs with Kabocha Squash
Ingredients and Substitutes
What is Kabocha Squash?
Instructions
> Recipe
Chinese Steamed Pork Ribs with Kabocha Squash 豉汁南瓜蒸排骨

Ingredients and Substitutes

Pork Ribs or Spare Ribs - Baby back ribs are more tender and fatty than spare ribs. Opt for either type of ribs cut into small pieces. If you do not prefer bite-size pieces, you can steam them as individual ribs.
Kabocha Squash - A good substitute for kabocha squash would be to use Acorn squash.
Fresh Garlic Cloves or Garlic Powder
Ground White Pepper
Whole Black Beans - You can shortcut this dim sum sauce recipe with pre-made Lee Kum Kee Black Bean Garlic Sauce available at your local Asian market and grocery store. This fermented black bean sauce is very salty! No extra salt needs to be added.
Vegetable Oil or Neutral Cooking Oil
Kosher Salt
Brown Sugar or Monk Fruit Sugar
Finely Chopped Green Onions for garnish
Fresh Cilantro for garnish
Corn Starch
Shaoxing Wine - Adding Chinese cooking wine to the marinade adds depth and enhances the flavour.
Dark Soy Sauce
Oyster Sauce
Dried Chinese Mandarin Peel (optional)
Fresh Ginger Sliced

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Most dry goods ingredients, tools and supplies can be purchased at your local Asian grocery store or Amazon Online.

What is Kabocha Squash?

Kabocha (/kəˈboʊtʃə/; Japanese カボチャ, Chinese 南瓜) - is a type of Japanese pumpkin that is short and stubby. It is often referred to as winter squash. Compared to the Western orange pumpkins, its skin is thin and edible.

The Kabocha squash is sweeter than butternut squash and has a soft, fluffy texture like sweet potatoes, which is perfect in saucy dishes like Curry Kabocha Stew with Pork Ribs and Chinese herbal soup to boost immune system like Pork Rib Kabocha Squash Soup.

Kabocha is healthier than pumpkins because they are richer in Vitamin C, pyridoxine, and thiamin. These winter pumpkins' health benefits include a good source of folic acid, beta carotene, and calcium, improving blood sugar levels.

Unfortunately, if you are wondering, is the kabocha squash keto-friendly? The answer is no. Kabocha contains high carbohydrates to satisfy a ketogenic diet.

In traditional Chinese Medicine, the pumpkin is sweet and warm in nature. It belongs to the spleen and stomach meridians, invigorates Qi, moistens the lungs and reduces cough. It also helps to deworm, and detoxify, is a diuretic, corrects menstrual cycles, reduces constipation and improves vision.

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How To Cut Kabocha Squash

The trick to cutting kabocha squash easily and how to peel the squash quickly is to use a large sharp knife. I recommend a high-quality chef knife!

Choose either one of the three methods.

Steam Kabocha - first option, steam the Japanese squash for 10 minutes to soften it before cutting it in half, removing the seeds and segmenting it into small pieces. Save the pumpkin seeds to make a delicious savoury and spicy umami-packed gluten-free snack!

Microwave Kabocha - second option, microwave the kabocha for a few minutes (approximately 2 to 4 minutes should suffice without it exploding.)

No Cooking - third option is simply to slice the whole kabocha in half. Remove the stem first with a large metal spoon. Carefully insert the sharp knife in the middle and work your way around the outside. Once you have an opening, break it apart with your hands, and remove the seeds and pith. Then segment the squash into wedges or smaller cubes.

Kabocha skin is edible. But if you wish to peel away the skin, just lay each wedge on its side and slice off the peel.

If you have leftover Kabocha squashes, you can freeze kabocha squash cubes in a zip-lock bag for next time.

Instructions

First, wash the pork ribs with cold water and pat dry with a kitchen paper towel.

Cut pork ribs into small bite-sized pieces if desired. Most Asian supermarkets and meat shops will already carry this cut of pork.

Add pork ribs and black bean sauce marinade (whole black beans, minced garlic, Shaoxing cooking wine, ground white pepper powder, brown sugar, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, corn starch and kosher salt) into a large ziplock bag. Alternatively, you can use pre-made store-bought Lee Kum Kee Black Bean Garlic Sauce.

Seal the ziplock bag and massage the marinade around the meat until evenly coated.

Place into the refrigerator and let marinate for at least 20 minutes.

Wash the whole Kabocha pumpkin thoroughly with a brush to remove all dirt and debris. Pat dry with a kitchen towel.

Carefully cut the squash into 1 cm thick wedges or cubed pieces.

Layer the squash on the bottom of a steam pan or a large shallow bowl. A dim sum restaurant bamboo steamer basket is not required.

Add the marinated pork ribs and garlic cloves on top of the squash. Include any leftover marinade sauce.

Add a trivet rack stand into the wok, and then add enough water to steam the pork ribs.

Boil water in a large wok on high heat. Once the water is boiling, place the pork ribs in the steam pan onto the trivet rack. Cover the wok lid and steam on high heat for 10 to 15 minutes or until the black bean spareribs are cooked.

Alternatively, for convenience, I prefer to steam the black bean spareribs in my CUISINART steam convection oven for 20 minutes.

Carefully remove from steamer or oven.

Let rest.

Enjoy hot with white jasmine rice.

Other Kabocha Pumpkin Recipes

If you love these Authentic Chinese Steamed Squash with Pork Ribs and Black Bean Sauce, check out these Kabocha squash healthy recipes!

Pork Rib Kabocha Squash Soup Recipe
Crispy Kabocha Seeds Recipe
Easy Kabocha Curry Recipe
Oven-Baked Kabocha Squash Recipes
Korean Kabocha Squash Recipes

What To Serve With Hong Kong Style Black Bean Pork Ribs

Soft, tender meat and juicy steamed ribs are delicious and maintain their natural flavours. They would go perfectly in a black bean pork steamed rice like this chicken clay pot rice! It is best to balance out a bowl of white jasmine steamed rice or stir-fried leafy green vegetables.

How about a warm bowl of soothing Chinese Papaya Soup with Black Eyed Peas to end the meal?

I'd love to see how you went with my Steamed Pork Spareribs Cantonese Style recipes! Leave a comment below or tag me on Instagram @INSTANOMSS #INSTANOMSS.

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