How to make a collagen packed Chinese radish soup with beef tendons
Soup Name: Collagen rich herbal broth with white radish and beef tendon.
Traditional Chinese Name: 蘿蔔炆牛筋湯 (lo4 baak6 man1 ngau4 gan1 tong1). The direct translation of this is “Radish stewed with beef tendon soup”.
Nature: Slightly cooling (due to the white radish)
Taste: Sweet and savory
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Collagen packed beef tendon
Collagen is a type of protein that provides strength to connective tissues like skin, tendons, ligaments, and bones. As we age, collagen production declines, leading to wrinkles or elasticity of the skin, joint stiffness, and weaker hair and nails. The key thing to note is that collagen is only found in animal-derived tissues.
Beef tendon is composed almost entirely of collagen-rich connective tissue. When simmered for hours, the collagen breaks down into gelatin, which gives broths a thick, velvety consistency. This natural gelatin is packed with amino acids like glycine and proline, which support skin elasticity, joint health, and gut healing.
I’ve also had this experience with fish heads. You can check out this salmon head Chinese soup recipe here.
And definitely, chicken feet in this “How to make a collagen rich for glowing skin chicken feet herbal broth“
How to make a collagen packed Chinese radish soup with beef tendons
What’s involved?
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 120 minutes (2 hours) at least
Total time: 130 minutes
Serves: 8 bowls
Ingredients
- 5-6 pieces of beef tendon
- 200g of stewing beef chunks
- 1 large white onion, peeled, quartered
- 6 cloves of garlic, peeled, crushed
- 1 large white radish, peeled, largely cubed
- 1 dried star anise
- 5 dried red dates
- 1 dried cinnamon stick
- 1 piece of dried tangerine peel, soaked
- 5 dried shiitake mushrooms
- 5 dried oyster mushrooms (or other mushrooms)
- 2 tablespoons of soy sauce
- 1 large piece of rock sugar (golf ball size)
- 4L of water
Cooking Instructions
- Start by soaking in your tangerine peel in cool water entirely. We want the
- Prepare your onions by peeling and quartering (I like to keep them large so that I can fish them out easily) as well as dicing or smashing your garlic.
- In your cast iron pot (or any pot of choice), add a bit of oil on medium heat and sweat out the onions and garlic. Stir occasionally as not to burn them.
- Once they are soft, add in your raw beef chunks and beef tendon. Continuously to mix, allowing the edges to brown nicely, make sure it doesn’t burn.
- As soon as a nice crust forms, add in 4L of water and turn up the heat to a boil.
- At this point, you can prepare the white radish. Peel them deeper and slice any way you’d like.
- Once the water boils, add in your herbs, the mushrooms, the star anise, the cinnamon stick, the clove, and the white radish.
- With the flat side of a knife, scrape the inside of the tangerine peel (the soft side) to remove as much of the inner flesh as it’s quite bitter. Rinse with cool water and drop into your soup.
- Add in your flavoring, the soy sauce and rock sugar.
- Cover and bring to a full boil.
- At this point, reduce the heat to a low-medium or until the soup is a gentle bubbling. Let this cook for another 1.5 hours at least or until the desired softness of the beef and tendon.
- Serve and enjoy!
EQUIPMENT USED
To answer your questions on what equipment I’m using, I’ve built a section here where you can find and explore what I’m using to make soups. Ingredients are a little harder, but I will do my best as I source them around. However, you can always message me on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, or Facebook, and I will reply and try to point you in some direction!
This pot is amazing for both starting the fry process and then making the soup or stew (and of course, keeping warm in the oven after). This is my go to pot for one-pot meals!
So the most amazing thing about a silicone, flexible ladle is that it molds to the shape of the pot as you scoop. So it’s perfect for thicker soups and stews! No wastage!
Another MUST HAVE in the kitchen for soups! It’s so fine that it will scoop off the top oil and foam layer when using meats in your soup!
I use this product for teas and smaller portions of soups. They are already prepared and ready for use in soups and teas!
Can I use a pressure cooker instead?