Chinese · Cantonese · appetizer

Master Stock Beef Shank and Eggs (Lou Seui Ngau Jin)

Name: Master Stock Beef Shank and Eggs (Lou Seui Ngau Jin)
Prep time: 2 h 38 min
Total time: 10 h 38 min
Cuisine: Chinese · Cantonese
Ingredients: beef shin — 1000 g; water — 2500 g; soy sauce — 250 g; soy sauce — 60 g; sugar — 120 g; shaoxing wine — 100 g; freshly ground star anise — 300 g; cassia; cloves — 12 g; bay leaf — 1 g; fennel seed — 5 g; sichuan pepper — 5 g; dried tangerine peel — 2 g; sand ginger — 84 g; fresh ginger — 40 g; spring onions — 440 g; eggs — 300 g; fried tofu puffs — 200 g; sesame oil — 9 g; coriander — 12 g

Master Stock Beef Shank and Eggs (Lou Seui Ngau Jin) reads umami 6.9, salinity 5.1 and warm spice 4.9 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Chinese · Cantonese appetizer, about 10 hr 38 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

Umami & Savory — 7.7 / 10
Sweet & Fruity — 5.0 / 10
Sour & Bright — 1.7 / 10
Bitter & Earthy — 1.2 / 10
Rich & Fat — 4.5 / 10
Aromatic & Spice — 5.5 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 6.9 · Salinity 5.1 · Warm Spice 4.9 · Sweetness 4.8 · Richness 3.7 · Funk & Ferment 3.4 · Nutty 2.8 · Allium 2.5 · Floral 2.5 · Herbaceous 2.4 · Citrus 1.5 · Earthy 1.1 · Bitterness 1.1 · Sourness 0.7 · Fruity 0.6

What's in it (20)

beef shin — 1000 g
water — 2500 g
soy sauce — 250 g
soy sauce — 60 g
sugar — 120 g
shaoxing wine — 100 g
freshly ground star anise — 300 g
cassia
cloves — 12 g
bay leaf — 1 g
fennel seed — 5 g
sichuan pepper — 5 g
dried tangerine peel — 2 g
sand ginger — 84 g
fresh ginger — 40 g
spring onions — 440 g
eggs — 300 g
fried tofu puffs — 200 g
sesame oil — 9 g
coriander — 12 g

Time & effort: about 10 hr 38 min (2 hr 38 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 45.5 kcal, 2.3 g protein, 1.7 g fat, 6.5 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat · Contains egg — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (7 steps)

Cover the shin with cold water, bring to the boil, boil 3 minutes and drain. Rinse off the grey scum and wash the pot. A clean start is what keeps a master stock clear enough to keep and reuse.
Combine the water, both soy sauces, rock sugar, Shaoxing wine, spice bag, tangerine peel, sand ginger, ginger and spring onions and simmer 20 minutes.
Add the beef, bring back to a bare simmer and cook uncovered, never boiling, for 1.5 to 2 hours, until a skewer meets no resistance but the pieces still hold their shape. Add the eggs and tofu puffs for the last 25 minutes.
Turn off the heat and leave everything in the liquid to cool, then chill overnight. Colour and salt go on penetrating as it cools, and the meat firms enough to slice.
Slice the shin 3 mm thick across the grain so the sinew shows as translucent lines, halve the eggs, and arrange on a plate with the tofu puffs. Moisten with a few spoonfuls of warmed master stock, add the sesame oil and coriander and serve at room temperature.
Strain the lou seui, skim the fat, boil it once and freeze it. Topped up with soy, sugar and fresh spices each time, it becomes the best thing in your freezer.
Substitutions: 1 tsp ground can stand in for the sand ginger.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

Soy Sauce Chicken (See Yau Gai) — Chinese · Cantonese
Steamed Sea Bass with Ginger and Spring Onion (Qing Zheng Yu) — Chinese · Cantonese
Agedashi Tofu (揚げ出し豆腐) — Japanese
Big Plate Chicken (Da Pan Ji) — Chinese · Xinjiang
Vietnamese Mushroom Noodle Soup — Vietnamese

Keep reading: what umami, salinity, warm spice mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.