Pork ribs steamed for thirty minutes in a bamboo steamer to ease the fat, then glazed in hoisin, garlic, soy, paprika and roasted coriander seed. Finished over coals until the glaze caramelises into something sticky and dark. The Cantonese-Australian backyard standard.

The pre-steam is the technique that separates good ribs from great. Steaming the racks before they hit the grill renders out the worst of the fat, breaks down the connective tissue and gives the meat a head start on the cook. The grill then does what it does best: bronze the surface, set the glaze, and char the edges.

The glaze is built on hoisin (the sweet, salty, fermented soybean and red yeast paste that defines Cantonese roast meats) extended with soy for salt, smashed garlic for depth, paprika for colour, and roasted whole coriander seed cracked in a mortar for fragrance. A squeeze of lemon at the end cuts the sweetness; salt to taste.

Brush the glaze on in two coats during the grill: the first to set against the meat, the second in the last two minutes to caramelise and shine. Eat with hands at the bench. Coleslaw on the side, soft white bread to mop the bench, a cold pilsner. The kind of dinner that takes a long time and disappears in five minutes.