Steamed spare ribs with black bean sauce (Si zap pai gwat)

1. Cut the spare ribs into individual ribs, then into 3-4 cm pieces (or ask your butcher); soak in cold salted water for 10 minutes, rinse and pat thoroughly dry.

2. Finely chop the garlic and thinly slice the chilli.

3. Mix the ribs with the black bean sauce, garlic, soy sauce, Shaoxing rice wine and sugar, then with the cornflour and finally the sesame oil; marinate for at least 20 minutes.

4. Spread the meat in a single layer on a deep heatproof plate and sprinkle with the chilli slices.

5. Place the plate in the steamer and steam over rapidly boiling water for 18-20 minutes until the meat is cooked and comes away easily from the bone.

6. Sprinkle with sliced spring onion and serve with the juices collected on the plate.

Tip: One of the best-loved bites of Cantonese teahouses. If you buy whole spare ribs, the butcher will gladly saw them into short pieces; the starch keeps the meat silky as it steams.