Susan Jung's recipes for tripe and chicken hearts

Honeycomb tripe is sold at some supermarkets as well as shops that specialise in frozen meats. I wouldn't suggest buying it from wet market butchers, unless they've cleaned it first (a long, smelly process). I like to cook the tripe with a pig's foot, because it adds richness to the dish, but it can be left out.

Rinse the coco beans, drain them, then repeat. Put the beans in a bowl, add water to cover them by about 4cm and leave to soak overnight.

Prepare the tripe. Put it in a bowl and sprinkle it thoroughly with rough-flaked salt. Use your hands to scrub the tripe well, then rinse it thoroughly. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil, add the tripe and simmer for about five minutes. Drain it and rinse it with cold water, then repeat the simmering process. Drain the tripe, rinse it with water and set it aside. Take the pig's foot, blanch it in boiling salted water for five minutes, drain and rinse, then repeat. Slice the tripe into bite-size pieces. Cut the bell peppers into 5mm-wide strips. Finely chop the onion and thinly slice two garlic cloves. Cut the pancetta into cubes. Quarter the tomatoes lengthwise.

Slice the chorizo about 5mm thick. Put the chorizo pieces in an unoiled pot (preferably enamelled cast iron) and set it over a medium flame. Brown the chorizo on one side then turn the pieces over and brown the other. Use chopsticks to remove the chorizo from the pan, leaving behind all the fat. Add the bell pepper strips and cook just until they start to wilt, stirring often. Remove the pieces from the pan and set them aside. Put the onion, sliced garlic and pancetta in the pan. Cook over a low flame until the onion becomes soft and translucent. Add the chilli flakes and stir for about a minute, then pour in the wine. Turn the heat to medium and simmer for several minutes, then stir in the tomatoes and a sprinkling of salt. Put the tripe pieces and pig's foot in the pan and bring the liquid to the boil. Lower the heat, cover the pan with the lid and cook at a low simmer, stirring often, until the meats are very tender (about three hours, depending on the tripe; sometimes it takes longer to cook).

While the tripe is cooking, prepare the coco beans. Drain the water from the beans then put them in a pot with fresh water covering them by about 3cm. Bring to the boil then drain and rinse. Put them back in the pot, add one garlic clove, the bay leaf and enough water to cover by about 2cm. Bring to the boil then lower the heat and simmer until the beans are almost tender; if needed, add more water to the pot as it evaporates. Stir in enough salt so the cooking liquid tastes quite salty, then finish cooking the beans until tender. Carefully drain them (so they don't break apart) and discard the garlic clove and bay leaf.

When the tripe is almost tender, taste the broth for seasoning and add more salt, if needed. Continue to cook until the tripe and pig's foot are very tender. Add the coco beans and simmer for about 15 minutes. Put the chorizo and bell pepper into the pot and simmer for 15 more minutes. If you want to make it easier to eat, fish out the pig's foot pieces and remove the skin and meat from the bones. Stir the skin and meat back into the pot. Season the ingredients with black pepper, then serve with crusty bread.

This is the kind of dish I'll cook when I'm alone - it's delicious but not everyone appreciates it. Because heart (and other organs) are very dense, a little goes a long way: 150 grams is a generous serving for those with normal appetites. Eat this with steamed white rice and blanched or stir-fried mustard greens - the bitterness of the vegetable will balance the richness of the hearts.

Cut the chicken hearts in half and remove the blood and veins from the interior. Pat them dry, then put them in a bowl and add the soy sauce, rice wine and sugar. Marinate for about 15 minutes.

Place a wok over a high flame. Pour in the oil and heat it until it's very hot. Put the garlic and ginger in the wok, stir fry for a few seconds, then add the chicken hearts and the marinade. Stir-fry for just a few minutes, so the hearts are still a little pink at the centre. Sprinkle with black pepper and serve immediately.

This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Innard beauty

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