Silver Olive and Sweet-Sour Pickled Ginger Steamed Pork Ribs

Why people make this dish

Summer heat has a way of dampening the appetite, and in Cantonese food culture, that is exactly when you reach for something tangy and aromatic to coax the stomach back to life. Silver olives (yin nian) are a seasonal fruit with a short harvest window — naturally tart and fragrant, they are used in Cantonese cooking much like a flavour enhancer, their acidity cutting through the richness of pork and sparking digestive juices.

Nourilo had a batch of homemade sweet-sour pickled young ginger already waiting in the fridge, and the combination with fresh silver olives and black bean paste on pork ribs is something he describes as a straightforward weekday treat: prepare in half an hour, steam in twelve minutes, and the table is ready. The sweet-sour, salty, sesame-laced sauce makes plain rice disappear effortlessly.

Method

1. Rinse the pork ribs; pat dry.
2. Remove pits from silver olives and slice thinly; slice the pickled ginger.
3. Combine all the marinade ingredients (black bean paste, sesame oil, sugar, light soy sauce) in a bowl and mix well.
4. Add the ribs, sliced silver olive, and ginger to the marinade; toss to coat evenly. Let marinate for at least 30 minutes.
5. Transfer to a steaming plate and steam over boiling water for 12 minutes.
6. Serve immediately with steamed rice.

Nourilo’s Tips

If you are using homemade silver olive paste instead of fresh silver olives, omit the sugar — the paste already contains sweetener. When using fresh silver olives with no paste, the sugar balances the tartness beautifully. This dish works equally well with fish head instead of ribs. Silver olives have a very short season, so snap them up when you see them at the market.