This week’s offal offering is beef tendon stew with daikon (turnips). I found beef tendons at our local Korean market. I was planning to cook oxtails but the packages were too large (about four pounds) for just the two of us. Beef tendons are supposed to be rich in collagen, which The Cat loves (see posts about chicken feet).
The beef tendons look like some special effect of a horror movie. The tendons were too tough to try to cut them up before cooking. I simmered them whole in water with garlic and ginger. After simmering for about five hours, I took them out, let them cool for about half-an-hour, cut them into about one-inch chunks, and returned them to the water. I added salt, pepper, star anise, and Chinese five spice to the water. I also added the turnips. I simmered everything for another two hours.
Just before serving I added togarashi (Japanese chili pepper blend with orange peel, sesame seeds, and ginger) and chopped green onions. These types of dishes has to be served with rice. The Cat was happy.
The next night, I served the leftovers with saimin noodles. I added frozen soy beans for variety. The Cat was happy again.
The texture of the tendons lead me to think that tendons are fatty and full of fat and cholesterol. A search on the web indicates otherwise. Tendons are supposed to be very low in fat with no saturated fat and no cholesterol. Yay!
The next time, I will make the stew a little spicier.
This post is being sent to Deb at http://kahakaikitchen.blogspot.com/ for her Souper Sunday feature.
Enjoy, next week (if I can find them), I may try a variation on chicken feet.
The Mouse
Low fat if you remove the fat surrounding the tendons as pictured. As one in my family would say, “…but you’re removing all the flavour!” This dish is quite common in Chinese fast food restos in Toronto, usually combined with untrimmed beef brisket.
I’ve been asking around for tendon. Is there a specific cut I should ask the butcher for? Thanks!
Usually comes from the leg portion. I think if you ask the butcher for tendons, the butcher should know best cut. Good luck.
It looks delicious–especially with the noodles. Thanks for sending it to Souper Sundays.
Aloha,
deb