A Ningxia Hui halal staple: stomach, intestines, heart, liver, and lung — each slow-cooked separately, then united in spiced lamb broth. The lung is stuffed with wheat dough before boiling, creating a unique inner gluten that soaks up broth. Wuzhong city's most celebrated bowl.
Lamb offal soup has roots across Central Asia's pastoralist cultures; Ningxia's Hui Muslims shaped their own version within halal dietary law. The Wuzhong city variety became most celebrated, distinguished by the technique of stuffing wheat dough into the lung cavity — the dough cooks inside the lung to form a chewy gluten block that no other regional variant replicates. A Xiachufang recipe introduction and Zhihu food writing both describe it as 'the genuine local specialty of Ningxia's Muslim people.' In May 1994, Ningxia's braised lamb offal — represented by the Wuzhong variety — was named a National Halal Famous Brand Specialty (全国清真名牌风味食品) at a national halal food evaluation.
A bowl of contrasting textures: slippery tripe, spongy lung that has absorbed the broth, silky liver, tender intestines — all unified in a rich, mildly spiced lamb stock. A spoonful of chili oil dropped at the center blooms red and adds a slow, building warmth.
Separate cooking of each offal type is essential: stomach and intestines require 60-90 minutes to hydrolyze their tough collagen into gelatin; liver, dense in protein, needs only 20-30 minutes before it toughens. The lung's alveolar structure gives it enormous absorptive surface area — stuffing flour dough into the trachea causes it to expand and cook inside the lung cavity, forming a chewy wheat gluten as air escapes from the tissue. Long-simmered hooves and head bones release gelatin that gives the final broth its characteristic thick, lip-coating richness.
Variations
Zhongwei versions add black cardamom and star anise for a more complex spice profile. Some households substitute lamb blood sausage for the stuffed lung. Street-food stalls serve the broth and offal separately for easy reheating. Border variants near Gansu add rice vermicelli alongside the wheat gluten.
On the Palate
Where Braised Lamb Offal sits in the Chinese flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 4How it's made
7 steps · 40 min
- 115 min
Clean all offal thoroughly: rub stomach and intestines inside and out with vinegar and salt; flush lung cavity under cold running water for 10 minutes until the water runs clear; rinse all pieces
Watch outFlush the lung cavity until the water runs clear — trapped blood turns the finished lung dark and bitter.
- 290 min
Boil head meat and hooves in a large pot of cold water, bring to a boil and simmer 90 minutes; boil stomach and intestines in a separate pot 60 minutes; boil liver, heart, and lung separately 35 minutes; reserve all cooking broths
Watch outCook each offal to its own time — stomach and intestine need the long hour, but pull the liver by 35 minutes or it turns hard and grainy.
- 335 min
Knead a firm dough from flour and water; feed it into the cleaned lung through the trachea until the cavity is tightly packed; tie off the opening and simmer in the lung broth 30 minutes until internal dough is fully set
Watch outPack the dough into the trachea until the cavity is tight, then tie off — a loose fill leaves hollow, unset pockets inside.
- 410 min
Remove all cooked offal and cut into uniform 5 cm strips; slice the stuffed lung crosswise to expose the cooked wheat gluten inside
- 55 min
Heat lamb tail fat in a wok over medium heat; fry chili powder 30 seconds, add Sichuan peppercorns and ginger slices and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute
- 620 min
Combine all offal strips in the reserved lamb broth; add the spiced chili oil; bring to a gentle simmer and cook 20 minutes to blend flavors
- 75 min
Ladle into deep bowls; top with scallion, coriander, and a drizzle of chili oil; serve with sesame flatbread on the side
Archive tool suggestions — not reviewed
These legacy suggestions have not been evidence-reviewed and are not presented as required tools.
