Ah the humble beef ball. Subject of countless dirty jokes, smutty nicknames, and at least one trashy Hong Kong movie that makes liberal use of both. More than their lesser-known pork cousins, beef balls command a cache that makes them culturally iconic. That’s in part because they are scarce, at least the good ones. ProperContinue reading “Chinese beef balls 牛肉丸”
Category Archives: beef
Sichuan picked peppers 泡椒
Once I got over my fear of barging into kitchens, I started making friends.
Tongliao! China’s beefiest cattle market
The Shebotu market is still about half the size it will be at its peak later in the summer
New article: A commodity chain approach to China’s beef trade, 1732–1931 (read free online)
New in the Journal of Global History, Volume 14, Issue 1 Many roads from pasture to plate: a commodity chain approach to China’s beef trade, 1732–1931 The advent of refrigerated transport made fresh beef a global commodity, linking South American and Australian producers to hungry consumers in Europe and North America. With vast supplies ofContinue reading “New article: A commodity chain approach to China’s beef trade, 1732–1931 (read free online)”
Ganba (干巴) Yunnan dried beef
Like any dried meat, the finished ganba is rock hard, and intensely flavorful.
Thomas David DuBois 