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Delicious and easy one-pot Chinese-style black bean spare ribs rice can be made with a pressure cooker, rice cooker, or on the stove. All cooks in one pot regardless of which method you choose.
Black Bean Spare Ribs Rice (Pressure Cooker or Rice Cooker)
EASY CHINESE BLACK BEAN SPARE RIBS
This dish is inspired by the Pressure Cooker Dim Sum Pork Ribs with Black Beans, which is one of my favorite dim sum dishes that we order every time. The spare ribs are marinated in aromatics like ginger, garlic, and Asian seasonings and then cooked with the rice.
Whether you choose pressure cooker, rice cooker, or steaming on the stove, this dish is really easy and cook in one pot. My kiddos LOVE this black bean spare ribs rice.
[disclosure]
FERMENTED BLACK BEANS
This recipe calls for fermented black beans (Chinese Douchi) or what we call “tau si” in Hokkien. They are also known as salted black beans or Chinese fermented black beans. The process of fermentation and salting the black beans are how douchi is made. They are extremely salty, pungent, and usually added to Chinese cooking to kick things up a notch! Using the right amount on the right dish will really elevate the dish to the next level.
WHAT KIND OF PORK RIBS TO USE
This recipe uses spare ribs, but you can use baby back ribs if you want. The dim sum place usually also uses spare ribs. Spare ribs are cheaper compared to baby back ribs. They are meatier and fattier, which means the latter part contribute to more flavor. BUT, either one you use, you will still get a great dish in the end. Just make sure you have the butcher cut the ribs into smaller pieces.
OTHER MEAT YOU CAN USE
If you don’t want to use pork, you can definitely use bone-in chicken pieces, cut into smaller pieces, or boneless chicken meat
HOW TO MAKE BLACK BEAN SPARE RIBS IN INSTANT POT PRESSURE COOKER
1. Make sure the ribs are cut into smaller pieces. Your butcher can do this for you
2. Marinate
Marinate the pork in seasonings for at least 30 minutes. I like to do it overnight
3. Add the marinated ribs and the marinade ingredients to the inner pot of Instant Pot
4. Add the liquid
5. Sprinkle in the rice
The rice is added later after the pork ribs to prevent triggering the “burn” alarm on the instant pot. Any starches that get caught at the bottom of the pot will trigger that. So layering the rice after the pork works wonderfully.
6. Gently push the rice into the liquid so the rice will cook evenly
7. Set timer to 12 minutes and wait for 5 minutes before releasing pressure
HOW TO MAKE BLACK BEAN SPARE RIBS IN RICE COOKER
Follow steps 1 and 2 above to marinade the ribs
1. Add the rice and liquid to the inner pot of your rice cooker
2. Layer the pork ribs on top of the rice along with the marinade ingredients
3. I use the “white rice” setting, about 20 minutes and then I waited 10 minutes before fluffing the rice
Both pressure cooker and rice cooker made a delicious one-pot black bean spare ribs rice. The pressure cooker is a bit faster compared to the rice cooker or cooking on the stove (obviously!)
Rice cooker on the left and Instant Pot pressure cooker on the right
Now you just made yourself a delicious and easy one-pot black bean spare ribs rice.
Black Bean Spare Ribs Rice (Pressure Cooker or Rice Cooker)
Ingredients
- 500 gr spare ribs in about 2-inch pieces
- 2 Thai red chili finely chopped (optional)
- 250 gr jasmine rice about 1 1/2 cups, see notes
- 268 gr water about 1 1/2 cups
- 1 Tbsp cooking oil
Marinade:
- 2 Tbsp fermented black beans
- 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp garlic finely chopped or grated
- 1 Tbsp fresh ginger finely chopped or grated
- 1 Tbsp Shaoxing wine
- 1 tsp cornstarch
Instructions
Marinade the ribs:
- Place the ribs in a large mixing bowl. Add all the marinade ingredients and mix to make sure the ingredients coat the ribs evenly. Cover and marinate for at least 30 minutes or overnight if you plan ahead
Prepare the rice:
- Wash the rice in several rinses of water until the water runs clear. Make sure to drain off water completely
Cooking with Instant Pot Pressure Cooker:
- Transfer the marinated pork ribs and all the marinade ingredients to the inner pot of instant pot. Add the chopped chili (if using). Add water and sprinkle in the rice. Gently push in the rice to make sure rice grains are covered by liquid. I cook it this way to prevent setting the "burn" warning on the instant pot
- Close the lid. Set the steam release valve to seal. Press "pressure cooker" and make sure it's on high pressure. Set the timer to 12 minutes. After 12 minutes, wait 5 minutes and then release the pressure entirely. Fluff the rice with the fork and garnish with some chopped green onion and/or fresh cilantro leaves
Cooking with Rice Cooker:
- Transfer the rice to the inner pot of rice cooker. Add water and then layer the marinated pork ribs and all the marinade ingredients on top of the rice. Add the chopped chili (if using). I use the "white rice" setting, which is about 20 minutes
- When the rice cooker beeps or let you know that it's done, wait 10 minutes and then check to see if the pork is cooked through, it should be, if not, you need to repeat another half cycle or full cycle
- Fluff the rice with rice paddle and garnish with some chopped green onion and/or fresh cilantro leaves
Cooking on the stove with a steamer:
- Bring the water in your steamer to a boil. Transfer the rice to a large bowl that will fit into your steamer. Add water and steam the rice for 15 minutes. Layer the pork ribs on top of the rice and steam for 20 minutes or until the pork ribs are cooked through
- Garnish with chopped green onion and/or fresh cilantro leaves
RECOMMEDED TOOLS
Marv's Recipe Notes
*Cooking time for recipe card is based on pressure cooking
14 comments
Hi Marvellina,
Will the cook time be the same without adding rice in instant pot? And what would be the cook time if I DBL the spare ribs (also w/o rice)?
Hi Grace,
If you have the ribs cut into smaller pieces, the cooking time will be the same, even if you double the recipe up without the rice. I suggest to pour 1 cup of water into the inner pot and then put the ribs on a heat-proof dish and place on top of the trivet. Don’t put the ribs inside the liquid since you are not using rice. If the ribs are in one whole piece, then you need to increase the cooking time to at least 30 minutes or 40 minutes if you want it really tender. I hope it helps!
Soooo good! Ive made this a few times using beef spare ribs instead. YUM!!
Hi Irene, Happy to know that you like. Yum…I’ll try with beef spare ribs too next round 😉
The butcher didn’t want to cut my lamb ribs into smaller pieces 🙁 will the recipe work with whole chips too? How should I adjust the cooking time? Thank you!!
It will work with whole ribs too. Increase the cook time to 30 minutes. If you want fall-off-the-bone tender, you may need to increase to 40 minutes.
Hi, what would you recommend as an alternative to shaoxing wine? Also do you think I could use lamb ribs instead?
Made your nasi ayam recipe in the instant pot yesterday and it turned out fantastic! Thank you!
Hi Fina, you can certainly use lamb ribs and for shaoxing wine, you can try dry sherry, or mirin (not exactly the same, but should work too), or sake, or other Chinese rice wine if you have some. Hope it helps! So happy to hear that you like the nasi ayam in the instant pot, that’s our favorite too!
This marinade is the bomb! We love fermented black beans paste and always have some in the fridge. And need I say that pork spare ribs love it too:)? Pinned and making soon to enjoy with some dark lager!
ohh…it would be so nice to go with the dark lager for sure!
I like eating pork ribs more than I should. 🙂 This dish looks absolutely delicious!
It’s hard to resist when it comes to ribs!!!