Xining Halal Offal Broth

The practice of simmering beef and lamb offal into a warming broth has deep roots in northwest China's Hui Muslim communities, where the whole-animal ethos of Islamic dietary tradition meant that inner organs were prepared with the same care as prized cuts. In Xining and across Qinghai's Hehuang River valley, za sui (杂碎, 'sundry offal') shops clustered along market streets and caravan routes since at least the late Qing period, catering to labourers and merchants who needed a nourishing pre-dawn meal. The shop 存寿牛杂碎 — named for Ma Cunshou, the third-generation cook who revived the family trade in 1978 — has been run by the Hui Ma family across several generations and now stands at its fifth; it carries both Qinghai provincial and Xining municipal intangible-cultural-heritage recognition and is the defining institution for the tradition. The dish's core technique, known as 化油 (huayou — removing the congealed surface fat before serving), distinguishes authentic 杂碎汤 from lesser imitations.

A deeply savoury, lightly unctuous broth cloaks multiple textures in the same bowl — firm-chew tripe, silky lung, tender head meat with a gelatin richness. The diner's own additions of chili, vinegar, and cilantro make every bowl personal.

The six to eight hour low simmer at 85–90°C — held below a rolling boil — slowly hydrolyses the triple helix structure of collagen abundant in the hooves, tripe, and connective tissue into soluble gelatin. This gelatin dissolves into the broth, giving it a silky body and lip-coating richness without cloudiness. If the broth were boiled vigorously, proteins would aggregate rapidly, producing a cloudy, greasier stock. Skimming the grey blood foam in the first hour removes denatured proteins and off-flavour compounds; the final 化油 step — skimming congealed fat — removes excess saturated fat while retaining fat-soluble aromatic compounds, achieving the characteristic 'fragrant but not greasy' balance.