Qinghai Lamb Offal Stew

Qinghai Lamb Offal Stew

　　Thanks to meticulous preparation and expert cooking, the lamb offal stew tastes incredibly delicious. Especially the flour lung and sheep intestines, which have a remarkably rich flavor. The method for making the flour lung involves repeatedly rinsing the sheep lung in clean water dozens of times until its pink color turns white. Then, the sheep’s small intestine is fitted over the lung’s trachea and sewn up with thread in preparation for filling it with batter.

　　　　When filling, the kneaded dough is first washed to extract the gluten. After the flour settles, most of the water is poured off, leaving just enough clear water to stir the dough into a batter. This batter is then poured into the sheep’s small intestine, and the batter is slowly squeezed into the lung lobes by hand until it is almost full. Next, a mixture of water, clear oil, salt, and cumin powder is poured in.

　　　　The small intestine is then removed, the trachea is tied tightly, and the whole thing is boiled in water for about two hours to finish. As for the sheep intestines: after washing the intestines, the sheep liver, heart, and intestinal fat are chopped up, mixed with ground pepper, cumin, fine salt, and washed rice, and stirred together with boiling water to make the filling. This filling is then stuffed into the sheep’s small intestine, with both ends tied tightly with string. The sausages are then placed in cold water, brought to a boil, then cooled in cold water—this process is repeated several times. When they are half-cooked, the intestines are pricked all over with a thin metal skewer to release any trapped air, and they are fully cooked after about one hour.

　　　　The most famous “lamb offal stew” in Qinghai can be found at the Datong Houzihe Offal Restaurant, located 25 li (approximately 12.5 kilometers) from the city center.