Tendon as food explained

The tendons of certain animals (particularly beef tendon) are used as an ingredient in some Asian cuisines, including the Filipino, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indonesian, Thai, Laotian, Cambodian and Vietnamese traditions. Tendon is tough and fibrous, but becomes soft after a long period of cooking.[1] In some cases it may be boiled for as long as eight hours, while in other dishes it is prepared by deep frying.[1] [2] It contains large amounts of collagen, and after boiling or stewing, it is sometimes described as mimicking the mouthfeel of high-fat cuts of beef despite its low fat content.[1] One author described the taste of deep-fried tendon as being similar to chicharrón (fried pork belly).[3]

Culinary uses

China

One popular Chinese dish is (Chinese: 蒜爆牛筋), where the tendon is marinated in garlic; it is often served at dim sum restaurants.[4]

Indonesia

In Indonesian cuisine, bakso is beef meatball filled with pieces of tendon, while soto is spicy cow's trotters soup which includes cow's leg tendons. Another dish is mie kocok which is a noodle dish with meatballs, beansprouts and pieces of beef tendon.

Italy

is a Lombard dish made of meat, cartilage and tendons.[5]

Japan

In Japanese cuisine, beef tendon is a common ingredient in oden.[6]

Korea

In Korean cuisine, beef tendon is known as (Korean: 쇠심) and is eaten raw as hoe,[7] or stir-fried as namul; however, it is not very common. The most common way to eat beef tendon in Korea is steaming it with high pressure to serve it soft. The steamed beef tendons are eaten with green onions and soy sauce or sometimes served in ox bone soup.

Philippines

Known as litid in Philippine cuisine, tendon is typically served after boiling for hours into a sticky gelatinous consistency, such as in bulalo [8] and some preparations of pares.[9]

Thailand

In Thai cuisine, tendon is often added to noodle soup such as .[10]

Vietnam

In Vietnamese cuisine, it is often used in pho.

Notes and References

  1. News: Beef Tendon. Erica. O'Neil. Phoenix New Times. 11 August 2010. 15 October 2015.
  2. News: Hot food: Beef tendon. Sydney Morning Herald Good Food. 28 April 2015. 15 October 2015.
  3. News: Puff, Puff, Tendon: A Contemporary Crunch at Lukshon. Eddie. Lin. Los Angeles Magazine. 6 March 2013. 15 October 2015.
  4. Web site: Braised Tendon with Scallions: Chinese Recipe. Chinatown Online. 15 October 2015.
  5. Web site: Nervetti Traditional Meat Jelly Dish From Milan TasteAtlas . www.tasteatlas.com . 11 March 2024 . en.
  6. News: A hodgepodge that really hits the spot. Japan Times. 25 November 2001. 15 October 2015.
  7. Web site: Soesim. Standard Korean Language Dictionary. National Institute of Korean Language. ko. ko:쇠심. 12 October 2017.
  8. Web site: Litid Bulalo, Beef Tendon Soup. October 2014. Overseas Pinoy Cooking. 21 November 2023.
  9. Web site: The Best Goto and Pares Recipes with Beef Tendon. 21 October 2021. FEATR. 21 November 2023.
  10. http://bk.asia-city.com/restaurants/article/bangkoks-100-best-street-food-eats-part-3 Guay tiew nuea toon (steamed beef noodles) at Wattana Panich in Bangkok