Dim Sum Tripe Stew

Dim Sum Tripe Stew is one of those dishes that you either love or won’t touch with a ten foot pole. Guess which category I’m in?  Read on and you’ll find out! Dim sum tripe stew, or niu za (牛雜), is pronounced phonetically in Cantonese as ngau tzop (excuse the weird spelling). Like many of these old and classic dishes, there usually is a variety of organ meats included in this dish but over the years, the ingredient list was reduced and became more simple, thank goodness for that!  Beef tripe is the main and sometimes only ingredient of the dish, along with Chinese turnips, so these are the ingredients we used for our version of tripe stew. If you go to a Cantonese dim sum place, you can order a little bowl of this beef trip stew, and they’ll also give you a bit of hot oil for dipping. When we were kids, the “elders” (our moms, dads, and grandparents) would always order it and sometimes prepare it at home. Be sure to check out our other Dim Sum Recipes and you can have your own dim sum party at home! Quite honestly, beef tripe isn’t for everyone. Borrowing a phrase from Andrew Zimmern of Bizarre Foods fame, it can have quite a “barnyard-y” taste to it, but hey…some people avoid lamb for the same reason. Bottom line is that we really just wanted to do this Dim Sum Beef Trip Stew recipe for ourselves and also for people who grew up with it, or those who would be interested in trying it. We’ve had tripe a few different ways. When we visited Madrid, braised tripe was served as tapas. We also had it in a stew in Tuscany. In these European-type applications, the tripe is often cooked until it’s incredibly soft. The Chinese don’t cook beef tripe as long, so the tripe retains its texture. Chinese like the slightly rubbery and chewy texture of beef tripe in the Dim Sum tripe stew since that is how most Chinese like it. Beef tripe stew is one of those traditional, archival recipes that we feel we have a duty to share here on The Woks of Life. It may be a little weird and unfamiliar to some, but it’s a classic Chinese dish. For the record, I grew up with this tripe stew dish, like it, and order it every so often when we have dim sum out. This homemade version is pretty authentic!

Chinese Dim Sum Tripe: Recipe Instructions

Thoroughly rinse the beef tripe under cold running water. In your wok, add the tripe, water, salt, ginger, scallion, and shaoxing wine. Place it over high heat until the water comes to a boil. Turn off the heat and let it sit for 5 minutes. Remove the tripe from the wok and rinse with cold water. put in a colander to drain. This step “cleans” the tripe and makes the flavor a little bit more mild. After the tripe has cooled, cut it into 1 1/2 x 2 1/2 inch pieces. In Dim Sum restaurants that serve this dish, this is generally the minimum size because the tripe will shrink further as it cooks. But you can really cut whatever size you prefer. Heat a large pot over medium high heat and add the oil, ginger slices, and star anise. Let it cook for about 30 seconds. Turn the heat to high and immediately add the tripe. Cook, stirring constantly, for about 2 minutes. Add the shaoxing wine and stir another 30 seconds. Next, add soy sauce, dark soy sauce, brown sugar, water, sesame oil and white pepper. Stir until everything’s combined. Bring the mixture to a boil and turn it down to a simmer. Cook for 20 minutes, stirring frequently. Cook the beef tripe a bit longer if you like your tripe more tender but as I mentioned earlier, Chinese like the tripe in this dish a little bit chewy. Update: Readers have commented that 20 minutes is not enough cooking time and the tripe is still quite rubbery and gristly. I suggest that at this stage, not to add turnips automatically (I modified that step in the recipe above). Instead, after 20 minutes or cooking, check the beef tripe for overall tenderness and cook the tripe longer if you like it more tender, keeping in mind that the tripe will cook another 20 minutes along with the turnips. Add the Chinese turnip and continue to cook for another 20 minutes or until the turnips are tender. If you like the turnips softer, then you can certainly cook it a bit longer. Taste for seasoning, and if it needs more salt, then add some now. To finish this tripe stew dish, turn the heat to medium high until the liquid comes to a boil. Stir in the cornstarch slurry and the white parts of the chopped scallions. Mix well for 30 seconds, until thickened slightly. Serve, garnishing with the rest of the scallions. Be sure to serve with some really good chili oil. See our Lanzhou Beef Noodle Soup recipe for a really awesome chili oil recipe that you can make ahead!