Name: Spicy Cumin Beef Tendon Skewers (孜然麻辣烤牛筋)
Yield: Makes 10 skewers
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: ½ tablespoon coarsely ground cumin; 3 cloves; ½-inch (12 mm) cinnamon stick; 2 slices dried Chinese licorice root (gan cao); 15 white cardamom pods; 1½-inch (4 cm) square dried orange peel; Salt; 2 teaspoons Red Chili Powder; 1½-inch (4 cm) piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced; 1 tablespoon Shaoxing cooking wine; 2 green onions, trimmed and cut into 2-inch (5 cm) pieces; 2 pounds (910 g) beef tendon; 1 tablespoon Homemade Green Onion Oil; ½ tablespoon Roasted Sesame Seeds; 3 tablespoons soy sauce; 10 bay leaves; 2 teaspoons Sichuan peppercorns; 3 black cardamom pods

Preparation info

Makes
10
skewers

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Xi'an Famous Foods

By Jason Wang

Published 2020

About

Like gizzards, this one is a tricky one. Raw tendons are tough and unforgiving, and you practically have to force them onto skewers. Plus, you’ll need to simmer them for far longer than you think to tenderize these gelatinous cubes, before dousing them with spices continuously so the cumin and chili powder sticks. But if you do it right, you end up with a burst of flavor, a crunchy, crispy surface, and a tender, gelatinous bite.