Beef Tripe Stew

Beef Tripe Stew

　　“Beef Tripe Stew,” also known as “Herbal Soup,” has been a traditional dish for centuries. According to *The Delightful Laughs of the Barbarians in the Streams* by Zhu Pu of the Song Dynasty, it is recorded: “The entrails of cattle and sheep are lightly washed and made into a soup to serve guests. Though the smell is unbearable, those who try it are delighted.” The preparation of Beef Tripe Stew is complex. After slaughtering the cattle or sheep, the undigested contents from their stomachs and small intestines are extracted, the liquid is squeezed out, and then mixed with bile and seasonings such as Sichuan peppercorn, ginger, dried tangerine peel, and herbs. This mixture is boiled in a pot over high heat, then simmered over low heat. The foam and impurities on the surface are skimmed off, filtered, and returned to the pot. Salt, scallions, garlic, and chili are added to complete the stew. It can be served by cooking beef in the broth or used as a dipping sauce, where cooked beef is dipped into the stew.

　　Preparation Method:

　　1. First, feed the cattle some of their favorite Chinese herbal medicines—such as fleeceflower root, kudzu root, mung beans, bupleurum, ginseng, angelica, saposhnikovia, golden buckwheat, and others—along with some fresh grass.

　　2. After about half an hour, slaughter the cattle, then remove the undigested herbal medicines from their stomachs and boil them in a high-temperature pot at more than double the usual boiling temperature for thirty minutes before taking them out.

　　3. Use a loofah to filter out the residue multiple times. Once thoroughly cleaned, set the liquid aside for later use.

　　4. Then, slice the fresh beef on a camphorwood cutting board (camphorwood can kill any “beef spikes” on the meat), and stir-fry the slices with ginger slices in a pan for about twenty minutes.

　　5. Once cooked, pour the Beef Tripe Stew into the beef (use less if making stir-fried beef, stir-fry until semi-dry. For hotpot, use at least twice the amount of the current beef). Add salt, monosodium glutamate, and other seasonings. When serving, you can also add spices such as grassleaf sweetflag rhizome, patchouli, and Szechuan lovage. There are two types of Beef Tripe Stew: soup pot and dry pot, depending on the amount of broth. The soup pot version is more tender, while the dry pot version has a richer and more intense aroma.

　　Benefits:

　　Cattle eat a variety of plants, many of which are herbs, and their bile has anti-inflammatory properties. Bezoar, used in medicine for clearing heat and reducing internal fire, is well known. “Beef Tripe Stew” is not only a unique delicacy but also offers anti-inflammatory, surface-relieving benefits, and helps treat inflammation and colds.