Braised Beef Hoof

Name: Braised Beef Hoof
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 3 h
Total time: 4 h
Ingredients: 12 beef hooves (remove the shells, char the skin over flame, soak until soft, scrape clean, boil until the bones can be removed, debone, cut off the hoof pad, and trim off the rough skin from the pad bottom); 1 kg cleaned hen (gutted and cleaned, cut into 4 large pieces); 15 g dried scallops (washed and wrapped in a clean cloth); 500 g pork knuckle (blanched in boiling water and scraped clean); 500 g choy sum (use the tender hearts); 50 g scallions (peeled and cut into sections); 25 g ginger (peeled and sliced); 10 g fine salt; 25 g braising sauce; 250 g cooking wine; 15 g rock sugar (crushed into small pieces); 75 g sesame oil; 5 g MSG; 50 g soybean oil; 2.5 g ground white pepper; 15 g chicken oil; 25 g roasted sesame seeds

A traditional Korean dish: beef hoof is seared over an open flame, soaked, deboned, then braised with hen drumsticks until fall-apart tender, yielding a rich, savory broth.

4 hours

Easy

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Ingredients

beef hooves (remove the shells, char the skin over flame, soak until soft, scrape clean, boil until the bones can be removed, debone, cut off the hoof pad, and trim off the rough skin from the pad bottom) 12

cleaned hen (gutted and cleaned, cut into 4 large pieces) 1 kg

dried scallops (washed and wrapped in a clean cloth) 15 g

pork knuckle (blanched in boiling water and scraped clean) 500 g

choy sum (use the tender hearts) 500 g

scallions (peeled and cut into sections) 50 g

ginger (peeled and sliced) 25 g

fine salt 10 g

braising sauce 25 g

cooking wine 250 g

rock sugar (crushed into small pieces) 15 g

sesame oil 75 g

MSG 5 g

soybean oil 50 g

ground white pepper 2.5 g

chicken oil 15 g

roasted sesame seeds 25 g

Instructions

Preparing the beef hooves

Remove the hoof shells from the beef hooves and char the skin surface over a flame. Soak in water until soft, then scrape clean. Add whole scallions and crushed ginger to water in a pot, and boil the beef hooves until the bones can be removed. Plunge them into cold water, remove the bones, cut off the hoof pads, trim off the rough skin at the bottom of the pads, and trim away the surrounding edges. Blanch twice more in boiling water with scallions, ginger, and cooking wine, then continue soaking in cold water.

Preparing the supporting ingredients

Select the tender hearts from the choy sum. Blanch the hen and pork knuckle in boiling water, then plunge into cold water and scrape clean. Cut the chicken into 4 large pieces. Rinse the dried scallops. Peel the scallions and cut into sections; peel the ginger and slice. Crush the rock sugar into small pieces.

Slow braising

Line a large clay pot with a bamboo trivet. Place the beef hoof pads on the trivet, then add the chicken, pork knuckle, dried scallops (wrapped in a clean cloth), scallions, ginger, clear water, salt, 250 g cooking wine, braising sauce, and white pepper. Bring to a boil, skim off all the foam, and simmer over medium heat.

Caramelizing the sugar and reducing the sauce

Heat a wok, add the sesame oil, and heat through. Add the rock sugar and stir until melted. When it turns purple, pour in some of the braising liquid from the clay pot, then return the mixture to the clay pot. The liquid should turn a light amber color. Cover and continue cooking until the sauce has thickened and the beef hoof pads are tender. Remove the chicken, pork knuckle, dried scallops, scallions, and ginger. Transfer the beef hoof pads to the wok, add MSG and chicken oil, reduce the sauce until thick, then transfer to a serving plate.

Arranging the garnish

Heat a wok and add the soybean oil. When the oil is about 40% hot, add the choy sum hearts, stir-fry briefly, then add a little broth, salt, cooking wine, and MSG, and stir-fry until just cooked. Arrange the choy sum neatly around the beef hoof pads, sprinkle with roasted sesame seeds, and serve.