Steamed Spareribs With Black Bean Sauce

I have prepared this recipe from the Frugal Gourmet’s “Cooking Three Ancient Cuisines” for many years. I have adapted the recipe a bit for my own tastes, of course. Look for the black beans in plastic bags in an asian market or health food store. These are not the canned black beans used in southwest cuisine, they are fermented soy beans leftover from making soy sauce. I serve this as one course in a chinese meal. It simplifies things when you don’t have too many stir fry dishes to prepare at the same time.