Cantonese steamed pork ribs with fermented black bean

Loosen the silver skin at the edge with the tip of a knife and rip it off with a paper towel -- optional usually, but not here, because the short steam leaves it tough.

Slice between the bones into individual ribs.

Toss the ribs with salt, cornstarch, crushed ice and Chinese cooking wine for a straight eight minutes; the tossing and rubbing loosens the grains and fibers and tenderizes them physically.

Rinse under cold running water a few minutes until the starch is gone, which removes any unpleasant smell and washes off some myoglobin so the cooked ribs stay light rather than brown.

Drain completely in a sieve.

Mix the marinade: soy sauce, oyster sauce, Chinese cooking wine, salt, baking soda, sugar, white pepper, granulated orange peel, two thirds of the garlic and two thirds of the ginger.

Pat the drained ribs as dry as possible with paper towels, because steaming produces a lot of moisture and a wet start gives you rib soup.

Toss the ribs thoroughly in the marinade, then mix in two tablespoons of cornstarch.

Run a knife roughly over the fermented black soybean.

Put it in a sauce pot with the reserved garlic and ginger, drizzle in two tablespoons of oil and stir over medium a couple of minutes until the aromatics are slightly golden at the edge; turn off and cool.

Pour that over the ribs and stir well -- the mix of raw and fried garlic upgrades the taste and aroma, and the oil wraps the ribs.

Marinate at least one hour, overnight is better.

Lay the ribs on a plate without overlapping so they cook evenly, and top with red chilies.

Bring the water to a boil, set the steamer above it and steam on high 30 minutes, keeping enough water in the pot.

Combine the plates, add more red chilies and sprinkle diced scallion over as garnish.