Pei Mei's spareribs with black beans

Spareribs with Fermented Black Beans
From Pei Mei’s Chinese Cook Book Volume II (Taiwan, 1974)

¾ lb Pork spareribs
1 T oil
2 T fermented black beans
1 T rice wine
½ tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 T cornstarch
2 T chopped hot pepper
2 T chopped garlic

1. Cut the spareribs into ½ inch-wide 1 inch long pieces. Wash and soak the fermented black beans about 5 minutes. Strain off water then chop finely. [With the current not very salty black beans, I skipped the washing and soaking].
2. Heat the oil in frying pan. Stir fry the fermented black beans. Add the wine, sugar, salt, and soy sauce. Stir for only 10 seconds. Remove to a bowl. Mix with the spareribs.
3. Add cornstarch to spareribs. Mix thoroughly. Place all of the spareribs on a plate. [I used the glass plate which fits in the steamer tray of the large pasta pot].
4. Sprinkle chopped red pepper and garlic on top. Put the plate in a steamer. Cover and steam over high heat for 20 minutes.
5. Remove and transfer the spareribs to a serving plate. Serve hot.