Pig Stomach Soup with Peppercorns (胡椒豬肚湯)

If you’ve never tried Pig Stomach Soup with Peppercorns before, now is the time! Here in this recipe, you’ll find all the family tricks to cleaning the stomach so you can enjoy a highly nutritious dish. It’s incredibly warming with succulently tender meat!

The perfect Winter warmer

As soon as I feel even the slightest tingle of Winter, Grandma’s homemade Pig Stomach Soup with Peppercorns is what I long for the most. Now, if you’ve never had it before, don’t go running in the opposite direction just yet! I promise there’s more than meets the eye.

Traditionally, this dish is enjoyed by mothers fresh into their confinement period after childbirth. The idea is that the birthing process takes a lot of warmth out of the mother – blood and fluids in particular – and leaves the body especially weak.

To replenish what was lost, Pig Stomach Soup is not only believed to be highly nourishing, but the peppercorns themselves bring warmth back to the healing mother.

For those who haven’t had to go through physically having a child themselves, the dish remains a cultural delicacy for many reasons:

The peppercorns are simmered long and slow until the broth is invigoratingly warm.
When you bite into the thinly sliced pig stomach, your mouth will get an explosion of umami and succulently juicy flavor.
The broth acts as a base for all the ingredients to infuse their essence for the most comforting and fortifying soup.

You’ve got to try this recipe to see why our family absolutely loves it!

All about pork stomach

What is it

Pig stomach is the internal organ that is found just under the liver and is responsible for storing and breaking down nutrients. They can be found frozen or thawed from butchers, while some sell them pre-cleaned.

In Chinese cuisine, it is common for this organ to be cooked as part of a stir fry, boiled in a soup, served as a cold appetizer or slowly braised.

Taste

When cooked, the organ is incredibly tender with a soft rubbery chew. You might find the outer lining to be firmer than the inner lining, depending on how long it was boiled for.

Pig’s stomach has a creamy and umami taste with a mild offal flavor that can be reduced if parboiled and cleaned well.

Health Benefits

Organ meat is generally recognized in the Chinese community as an ingredient that is highly nutritious with generous amounts of protein and nutrients. It is also said that having Pig Stomach Soup assists with asthma and increases the appetite.

Whether you’re trying this recipe for the flavor or the nutrition, it definitely deserves a go!

Why this recipe works

Using white peppercorns adds a gentle warmth to the broth and makes it extra comforting.
Washing the organ in salt and vinegar helps to deeply cleanse everything and remove the odors.
Adding mushrooms means a more fragrant soup with a wonderful umami kick.

What you’ll need

About the ingredients

We get our pig stomachs from our local butcher. You can get them in a large or small size, depending on your preference. Some butchers might offer it semi-cleaned already and they’re often stored frozen in the freezer.

To clean the organ, we used distilled vinegar but white vinegar will also work as well.

You can use black peppercorns for this recipe, but traditionally it’s made using white peppercorns.

How to make this recipe

Clean the stomachs by pouring 3 tsp of salt over them and kneading it through for 30 seconds. Rinse it off under hot water and repeat another 5 times.

Invert the pig’s stomach and wash it under hot water for 30 seconds.

Use a knife to scrape and pull off the loose fat.

Flip the organs back to their original form and pour the vinegar over them. Knead it through for 2 minutes then rinse under hot water.

Tip: Give the pig stomachs a quick sniff and if there still is the organ smell, knead more vinegar in and rinse until it is free from any odor.

Bring your stock to a boil and add the shiitake mushrooms, white peppercorns, chicken bouillon powder, salt and pig stomachs in to simmer for 40 minutes or until the organs are soft.

Take the pig stomachs out and use scissors to cut them into 1.5cm x 3cm (0.6″ x 1.2″) strips, then put them back into the pot.

Serve hot as is!

FAQs

My pig stomach still has an odor even after washing. How can I remove the smell?

You can try kneading 1/2 US cup corn flour in to help further get rid of the odors. Otherwise, boil it in a separate pot to clean it before adding it to the soup.

What can I use instead of vinegar?

Other options for cleaning include lime juice or coke, which are also used to remove unpleasant flavors.

Tips for the best results

Use smaller pig stomachs. Ask the butcher for the smaller version because they will be easier to clean and much softer when cooked.
Simmer on a low heat with the lid partially off. To keep the soup clear, make sure it does not reach a roaring boil as that will turn it murky.
Take the pig stomach out when cooked. The organ can get very soft when kept on heat for too long, so take it out to cut and put it back in just before serving.

Our favorite nourishing soups!

Lotus Root Soup (蓮藕汤) – Try this easy and homey Cantonese favorite that frequents our dining table at least once a month!
Chicken Feet Soup (雞腳汤) – Nutritious and incredibly delicious with fall apart chicken, it’s the perfect Winter warmer.
Chinese Watercress Soup (西洋菜汤) – We don’t have this recipe every week for no reason! Simple, earthy and a great way to get greens in, there’s every reason to love this dish.
Fish Maw Soup – This classic is often served during celebrations, but now you can enjoy a thick hot soup any time of the year!

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