2024 new year ‘new dish’? My Healthy Braised Pork Intestines for the Hubs who loves kway chap (粿汁).

Why Healthy? I sniped off 50% of the fats what’s why. Daughters say this is not a dish for the faint hearted and I tend to agree! See note on cleaning below. 

Succulent and tender …

If I had to give this dish another name, it would be Husband’s Happiness! Because the Hubs is simply on cloud nine (think greedy eye with silly grin) whenever he eats this!

And for kway chap enthusiasts who love large intestines, what’s not to like? Super clean pork intestines braised to perfection – succulent, tender yet thick and with a delicious chew. Simply divine! 

Delicious & healthy-ish? 😬

To eat or not to eat?

Why do we Chinese eat intestines? I guess culturally the Chinese have been known to be adventurous and willing to eat all types of food – intestines, bugs, stinky foods, blood tofu and whatever else you can imagine*

*In the Sugar Crumble household, we stop at intestines and none of the rest 😬 

I agree, they do not look pretty …

Credit to Chinese ancestors for having the culinary chops to make parts like intestines, lungs, kidneys, stomach etc into delicious delicacies which are well prized today. However more than that, historically, these ‘weird’ delicious foods appeared out of necessity, from the old days where there was famine, when there was not enough to eat during difficult times.

Therefore nothing was wasted and the pure grit to survive birthed these now famous signature dishes masterfully cooked using ‘odd’ ingredients.

Transformed!

I like to think my love for large intestines embraces tradition 😄 and I hope my Healthy Braised Pork Intestines will be passed down generations in the Sugar Crumble family remembering not just the how, but why we eat it!

Check out the step-by-step recipe tutorial and I hope you enjoy this as we do.

WATCH HOW TO MAKE THIS!

If you like this recipe tutorial and like to see more, subscribe to my YouTube channel here 😊

If you like my Healthy Braised Pork Intestines, you may also like these other recipes:

• Easy Black Char Siew
• Parasite Steak Ramdon
• Grandpa’s Hainanese Mutton Soup
• Homemade Ba Kwa

Tips

#1 Clean clean clean!

Large pork intestines known as dachang 大肠 (big intestine) or feichang 肥肠 (fatty intestine) are tender with a delicious chew because there is a lot of fatty tissue inside it to enjoy.

However precisely because of this fatty soft interior and their basic function, large intestines are not the easiest ingredient to work with as they are grimey and oily often with a gamey smell. Therefore the cleaning process before cooking is a most important step to thoroughly clean and remove all the unpleasant grime and fats. Follow these steps below for a thorough cleansing.

4 Essential Steps

Step 1 – rub thoroughly and continuously with salt, flour and a little oil and wash thoroughly; do this several times until the water runs clear.

Step 2 – douse with hot water to remove any oili-ness.

Step 3 – turn the inside out and trim away excess fat and tissues according to preference. Again wash thoroughly and flip it back. 

Step 4 – before cooking, blanche the intestines in boiling water added with ginger and rice wine to further remove excess residue and smell.

The intestines would be thoroughly cleaned at this stage and all ready for braising or stir frying.

#2 How much to trim? 

The fatty tissue inside the intestines are super high cholesterol but they are also what gives that incredible delicious chew! So it’s one of life’s tough choices – how much to trim? My choice? My Healthy Braised Pork Intestines uses 1 kg of intestines and I removed almost 500g of fats! 

Not for the faint-hearted 😄

How much should you trim? Eat to live or live to eat? Go with your preference! 

#3 Braising

Pork intestines can be braised and stewed in soy sauce with a classic combination of herbs, spices, ginger and scallions. The intestines will darken in color and absorb the delicious flavors. Many people prefer softer pork intestines and they usually take an hour to stew. I stewed mine using black bean paste, beer and abalone sauce. No need for any salt. This braising sauce is super tasty as it is.

My go-to braising combi

And I like to stew the intestines for about 45 minutes or so; that is the sweet spot (for me) for perfectly softened intestines whilst retaining a nice irresistible chew. Freshly braised intestines with a generous drizzle of sauce served on rice, who can resist? Just too good!

#4 Storage 

This Healthy Braised Pork Intestines keep well for 4-5 days well sealed and chilled in the refrigerator. Simply reheat it when it is to be consumed. 

Husband’s Happiness, anyone?

Did you make this? I would love to know how it turned out. Tell me more 😊  Please leave me a comment or tag me on Instagram, FB hashtag #thesugarcrumble

Print Recipe

My Healthy Braised Pork Intestines

My Healthy Braised Pork Intestines 😄 Healthy simply because I removed 50% of the fats! Warning - the cleaning may not be for the faint hearted! Super clean pork intestines braised to perfection in less than an hour - succulent, tender yet thick and with a nice chew.

Prep Time45 minutes mins

Cook Time45 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Course: Braised innards

Cuisine: Asian

Servings: 8 pax

Author: Kai

Ingredients

• 1 kg pork large pork intestines ( 大肠头）
• 3 tbsp oil
• 3 tbsp minced garlic
• 5-6 ginger slices
• 5-6 chilli slices
• 3 tbsp black sauce
• 330 ml beer 1 can
• 600 g abalone sauce
• 2-3 sprigs coriander for garnish

For blanching

• 5-6 ginger slices
• 150 ml Chinese wine

Instructions

Cleaning

• For a thorough wash, rub generously with salt, flour, oil and rinse several times till the water runs clear. Douse with hot water to remove any oili-ness.
• Then flip the intestines inside out and start trimming the fatty tissue on the inside. How much to trim, you decide according to your preference. Rinse thoroughly after trimming and flip it back.
• Add 5-6 slices of ginger and 150ml Chinese wine to boiling water. Blanch the intestines and bring to a boil for 2-3 minutes. Do this step to remove any gamey or porky smell from the intestines.

Cooking

• Add oil to a hot pan and fry the garlic, ginger and chilli slices until fragrant.
• Add in the intestines and 3 tbsp of dark soy sauce. Stir fry till the intestines are evenly coloured with the dark soy sauce. Then add in the black bean paste, beer and abalone sauce. Bring to a boil. Add a little water if necessary and braise on low heat for 45 min or until desired texture.
• Slice and drizzle with added sauce if you like. Serve hot with kway chap or freshly cooked rice. Enjoy.

Video

Notes

If you like this recipe tutorial and like to see more, subscribe to my YouTube channel here 😊

 

#1 Clean clean clean!

Large pork intestines known as dachang 大肠 (big intestine) or feichang 肥肠 (fatty intestine) are tender with a delicious chew because there is a lot of fatty tissue inside it to enjoy.

However precisely because of this fatty soft interior and their basic function, large intestines are not the easiest ingredient to work with as they are grimey and oily often with a gamey smell. Therefore the cleaning process before cooking is a most important step to thoroughly clean and remove all the unpleasant grime and fats.

 

For a thorough cleansing, follow these 4 essential steps

Step 1 - rub thoroughly and continuously with salt, flour and a little oil and wash thoroughly; do this several times until the water runs clear.

 

 

Step 2 - douse with hot water to remove any oili-ness.

 

 

Step 3 - turn the inside out and trim away excess fat and tissues according to preference. Again wash thoroughly and flip it back.

 

 

Step 4 - before cooking, blanche the intestines in boiling water added with ginger and rice wine to further remove excess residue and smell.

 

The intestines would be thoroughly cleaned at this stage and all ready for braising or stir frying.

 

#2 How much to trim?

The fatty tissue inside the intestines are super high cholesterol but they are also what gives that incredible delicious chew! So it’s one of life’s tough choices - how much to trim? My choice? My Healthy Braised Pork Intestines uses 1 kg of intestines and I removed almost 500g of fats!

How much should you trim? Eat to live or live to eat? Go with your preference!

 

#3 Braising

Pork intestines can be braised and stewed in soy sauce with a classic combination of herbs, spices, ginger and scallions. The intestines will darken in color and absorb the delicious flavors. Many people prefer softer pork intestines and they usually take an hour to stew. I stewed mine using black bean, beer and abalone sauce. No need for any salt.

This braising sauce is super tasty as it is. And I like to stew the intestines for about 45 minutes or so; that is the sweet spot (for me) for perfectly softened intestines whilst retaining a nice irresistible chew. Freshly braised intestines with a generous drizzle of sauce served on rice, who can resist? Just too good!

 

#4 Storage

This Healthy Braised Pork Intestines keep well for 4-5 days well sealed and chilled in the refrigerator. Simply reheat it when it is to be consumed.