chiuchow black pepper pig stomach soup - part 2

Looking back it has been a while since I ate pig stomach. While shopping in my regular Asian grocery stores I was disappointed at the lack of selections of live seafood. This year the Pacific Northwest crab and other shellfishes harvest must be abnormally low. I came across the nice looking pig stomachs. They were 2 in a pack so I bought a pack.
I have noticed many times in previous purchases the stomachs were not whole. The pointy part of the stomach had been trimmed off. The pointy part of a stomach is the most desirable part as the meat there is thicker. No doubt they were trimmed off to be sold for higher price. Not this time. Both stomach were compete. I also notice they have been nicely cleaned in that the excess fat has been removed so I had to hardly do anything before turning them into a dish - two different dishes to be precise.

I took 1 stomach and made Chiuchow black pepper pig stomach soup 潮州胡椒猪肚湯. I used may be 2 pounds of pork neck bone for the base stock. The stock took a few hours. I blanch the stomach with hot water, and then let it cool so it is easy to slice into thin slices. The thin slices would then simmered tender much faster in the base stock. The bone stock has ginger slices, a few dried bay leaves, and a few gloves of garlic. Chiuchow black pepper pig stomach soup should have over the top amount of ground black pepper. I waited until the soup is nearly finished simmer before adding in the freshly ground pepper. I also added a stalk of dried soy milk skin to add some fun.

The other star of this soup is bits of pickled mustard green (咸酸菜). I kicked myself for not buying the fresh ones sold in a store that I visited before seeing the pig stomach in another. Too late, I wasn't going to drive back a few blocks just for that. I would make do somehow. Sure enough as I found this not so good pack of some in my refrigerator. It is not freshly made so the color and texture suffer. If you want to make this soup but cannot find Asian pickled mustard green, common dill pickles are excellent substitute. Just slice them cross wise into slices and add when the soup is almost ready. I actually used some as the pack of pickled mustard was not that good.

The pot that I made would last for over a week.

pickled mustard green (咸酸菜)

freshly ground black pepper - actually I added a lot more than shown here

this is what dried soy milk skin looks like being re-hydrated in water; these are stick form

this soup is so precious so I savor a small bowl

this is a hearty serving - there is a piece of soy milk skin at 5 o'clock

As to the other stomach, I decide to prepare a simple dish with shiitake mushrooms. Actually I made it into a small pot of braised pig stomach with shiitake mushroom so they may be used in making a varieties of meals for a whole week.

the other pig stomach to be slow-braised with shiitake mushroom

here is a sea scallop dish that I used the thinly sliced braised pig stomach, shiitake mushroom. and the juice to prepare the rice noodles

I have been craving for some good fish ball soup noodle. To me there is none to be have unless I pay a visit to Hong Kong, or better yet to coastal Chaozhou (Chiuchow in Catonese). Good fish balls must have fresh fish taste and most important - bouncy toothsome (弹牙). The not so good substitute that I can make at home here is with cuttlefish meat balls from Malaysia. Actually decades ago there are freshly locally made fish balls here in Portland but no more. They were acceptable but much better than any factory made frozen varieties.

I used thin Thai rice noodles - I really like how they stay al dente

While we are at Chiuchow dishes, the other soup noodles that I crave is beef meet balls. Chiuchow people make the best. Traditionally there are two kinds. A smooth one made mainly with lean beef, and one with rougher texture made with lean beef and tendons. The latter tends to be larger in size. It is common that the vendor would serve you both in a bowl of beef soup noodle, or you can specify which one you prefer. I love the contrast in texture and mouth feel of both. Here we can find beef meat balls that are made in USA sold in a Asian supermarket that are sold loose by weight. It is the one with beef and tendon.

Chiuchow soup noodles with beef balls

Time to reheat a bowl of Chiuchow black pepper pig stomach soup 潮州胡椒猪肚湯. The way I like to reheat soup is just ladle the right among and slowly reheat in a small saucepan. I dislike using microwave as you tend to superheat the ingredient and often cause a mess especially with a thick soup, or anything with high fat content.