Beijing Braised Offal with Shaobing

Cleaning the intestines properly is the most important step — don't rush it. Place them in a large pot, cover with cold water, bring to a rapid boil, and boil hard for 20 minutes. Drain, discard the water, and rinse under cold running water, scrubbing the outside surface. Repeat the entire process a second time — two full blanches removes virtually all the funk and any lingering odour. After the second blanch, drain, rinse once more, and cut the intestines into 4–5 cm pieces on the diagonal. If using lung, blanch it the same way and cut into similar-sized chunks.

About 25 min

In a large pot, combine the dark soy sauce, doubanjiang, star anise, cinnamon stick, crushed garlic cloves, and fermented tofu if using. Pour in 1.5 litres of cold water and stir to combine. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat — the broth will turn a deep mahogany brown and smell intensely of anise and spice. Taste it: it should be quite salty and intensely savoury, which is correct. The offal and tofu will absorb a significant amount of that salt and flavour over the long simmer.

About 8 min

Add the blanched intestines, lung (if using), and tofu cubes to the boiling broth. Reduce heat to a steady, active simmer with small bubbles constantly breaking the surface. Simmer uncovered for 90 minutes, adding a splash of water if the broth level drops significantly. After 90 minutes, the intestines should feel completely tender and slightly gelatinous when pressed; the tofu should have drunk in the dark broth all the way to its centre. The broth will have concentrated into something almost syrupy.

About 1 hr 30 min

If your shaobing are fresh from a Chinese bakery, simply halve them and set aside. If using shop-bought flatbreads, brush them lightly with water and warm in an oven at 180 °C for 5 minutes until the crust is crisp and the inside is warm through. Score or tear each shaobing into 3–4 rough, irregular pieces — uneven edges soak up the broth far better than clean cuts.

About 6 min

Place the torn shaobing pieces in the bottom of deep bowls. Pile the intestines, lung, and tofu generously on top, making sure each bowl gets a mix of everything. Ladle 2–3 generous spoonfuls of the dark, fragrant braising broth over everything — the shaobing should visibly begin absorbing it within seconds. Serve with a small dish of chilli sauce and raw garlic paste (fresh garlic mashed with a pinch of salt) on the side; diners stir these into their bowl to their own taste. This is soul food at its most honest.

About 3 min