Beef Tendons

Tendons are connective tissue between bones and muscles and contain about 1% of fat. They gel after prolonged cooking at low temperatures and become soft and tender like fat without being oily. Chinese gastronomy has a special term to describe such textural and flavor characteristics “you er bu ni” (油而不腻). One analogy to this type of texture familiar to Europeans is the flesh of a ripe avocado. Cooks strive for this when cooking pork belly in Chinese or Japanese cuisine. To achieve this texture, the tendon is blanched (covered with cold water and brought to a boil), then cooked in its final liquid medium at low temperatures for about 3 hours. The tendons need water for gelling to occur. They must be entirely covered with liquid and kept submerged during cooking.

INGREDIENTS
2 lb tendons
4-5 cups water
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 mirin
1/3 sake
1 tsp chili onion crisps

1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp black peppercorns
1 star anise

1 daikon or radish, sliced
10 garlic cloves
2-4 scallions
1 onion, cut 1/8
1 inch ginger, sliced
1 carrot, sliced

INSTRUCTIONS
In a pot, cover beef tendons with cold water and bring to a boil over high heat. Slowly change the temperature of the tendons from room temperature to 212F to prevent them from deforming.

Place all ingredients in a slow cooker insert and cook for 3 hours. Remove the vegetables and strain the stock. Return the stock and tendons to the зще and slow cook for another 6 hours or pressure cook for 1 hour until tendons are soft.

Refrigerate cooked vegetables, tendons, and stock until ready to serve. Slice tendons while they are cold. Reheat all ingredients and arrange them on the plate. Garnish with fresh leafy vegetables and soft-boiled eggs.