Spicy Beef-Offal Pot
麻辣牛杂锅
Serves 4 to 6 · Prep: 20 minutes · Cook: 50 minutes · Total: about 1 hour 10 minutes
I almost never make niuza at home because every cut needs its own prep. When I do, I make a big pot and eat it for two days.
Ingredients
Beef offal
- 1½ pounds cooked mixed beef offal (honeycomb tripe, beef tendon, beef stomach or intestine, and cooked brisket, optional), cut into bite-size pieces
- 3 slices ginger
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
Broth
- 3 tablespoons neutral oil
- 2 tablespoons Sichuan doubanjiang
- 2 ounces spicy Sichuan hot-pot base, about ¼ cup
- 1 tablespoon fermented black beans, rinsed and chopped
- 5 garlic cloves, sliced
- 1½ inches ginger, sliced
- 5 dried red chilies, cut into short pieces
- 1 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns
- 1 star anise
- 2 medium tomatoes
- 5 cups unsalted beef stock
- 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon sugar
Vegetables
- 5 ounces fresh or rehydrated tofu skin, cut into wide strips
- 1 cup sliced bamboo shoots
- 5 ounces oyster, shiitake, or king oyster mushrooms
- 2 cups bean sprouts
- ½ red bell pepper, cut into chunks
- 1 small bunch garlic chives or scallions, cut into 2-inch pieces
- Chili oil, as needed
- Salt, as needed
Instructions
- 1
Rinse the offal
Put the cooked offal in a saucepan and cover it with water. Add the ginger and 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine. Bring to a boil and cook for 3 minutes. Drain and rinse with warm water.
- 2
Prepare the tomatoes
Chop one tomato into small pieces. Cut the second tomato into wedges and set it aside.
- 3
Cook the spicy base
Heat the oil in a large, wide pot over medium-low heat. Add the doubanjiang and hot-pot base. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring often, until the oil turns red.
- 4
Add the aromatics
Add the fermented black beans, garlic, ginger, dried chilies, Sichuan peppercorns, and star anise. Cook for 30 seconds.
- 5
Cook the tomato into the oil
Add the chopped tomato. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, pressing it with the spoon until it softens into the oil.
- 6
Make the broth
Pour in the beef stock. Add 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine, the soy sauce, and sugar. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a steady simmer for 10 minutes.
- 7
Simmer the offal
Add the drained offal. Cover partially and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. If the tendon is still firm, continue simmering until it is soft enough to cut with chopsticks.
- 8
Add the vegetables
Add the tofu skin, bamboo shoots, and mushrooms. Simmer for 5 minutes.
- 9
Add the remaining vegetables
Add the bean sprouts, bell pepper, and tomato wedges. Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes. The sprouts should soften but not disappear into the broth.
- 10
Finish
Stir in the garlic chives. Taste the broth and add salt only if needed. Spoon chili oil over the top for more heat. Serve with steamed rice or cooked wheat noodles.
Recipe notes
Cook’s notes
- This method — blanching cooked offal with ginger and wine, then reheating it in a base of doubanjiang, chilies, Sichuan peppercorns, and hot-pot seasoning — follows common Chinese preparations for mala beef offal.
Swaps & substitutions
- Ask for cooked beef offal at a Chinese market — using cooked offal instead of raw avoids the long, separate cooking times tripe and tendon usually need.
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