Niúbiě
dish / dish-niubie
ニウビエ
Niúbiě is a dish passed down among Dong and Miao communities in Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou, China. Shortly before slaughter, cattle (or sheep in some areas) are fed grasses and medicinal plants. Liquid is squeezed from the not-yet-digested plant matter in the stomach and small intestine; also called “百草汤” (in translation: "hundred-herb soup"), it is simmered over low heat with cattle bile and spices. It is served as a soup ( [niubie soup]) or used as a seasoning liquid added to fried beef and offal, as in (dry-pot niubie).
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Reading the bitterness
「牛瘪」 (niubie) is a dish passed down among Dong and Miao communities in Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou, China; it is also called 「牛瘪汤」 (niubie soup) or 「干锅牛瘪」 (dry-pot niubie). According to a local news-media article, cattle are fed grasses and medicinal plants shortly before slaughter. Liquid squeezed from undigested plant remnants in their stomach and small intestine, also called 「百草汤」 (in translation: "hundred-herb soup"), is simmered over low heat with cattle bile and spices. The dish is described as being found in counties including Liping, Congjiang, Rongjiang, and Jinping, as well as parts of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
Bitterness is central to the taste. One regional food introduction describes an initial bitterness followed quickly by a refreshing sweetness, with a cooling bitterness remaining in the mouth for a while. Another article describes a sequence of bitterness, then pungency, then the aroma of beef. The author of a local-history column also wrote of personally tasting some bitterness. These are all individual writers' sensory descriptions, not controlled evaluations.
An article records a method in which cattle are fed young shoots and vine leaves of medicinal plants such as kudzu root, mung bean, dangshen, shouwu, and danggui about half an hour before slaughter. After slaughter, undigested contents from the stomach and small intestine are boiled in a large pot and cooled, then the liquid is squeezed out. Cattle bile, Sichuan pepper, ginger, dried tangerine peel, and aromatic herbs are added, and the liquid is reduced further over low heat. This niubie soup is also described as a seasoning added to finish dry-pot niubie made with fried beef and offal.
A local-history column introduces records thought to be related to niubie in older texts. The Tang-era 『岭表录异』 (in translation: "Strange Records from South of the Ranges") describes digested grass in cattle intestines and stomach as 「圣齑」 (in translation: "shengji"); a similar account is described as appearing in the Five Dynasties-era 『玉堂闲话』 (in translation: "Informal Talks from the Jade Hall"). The Song-era 『溪蛮丛笑』 (in translation: "Collected Anecdotes of the Xi Peoples") is described as recording 「摆羹」 (in translation: "bai geng") made by washing cattle or sheep intestines as a dish served to guests. However, these accounts are secondhand citations of classical texts by a prefectural media source; the originals have not been checked directly. It is not known whether the dishes described there are identical to present-day niubie.
Sources for this overview
旮旮角角贵州史丨古已有之的“牛瘪”食俗，你可知最早出现在什么时候？
Checked for this overview: Checked the alternative name bai cao tang and the basic preparation method. / Checked the descriptions of Dong and Miao communities and the counties where the dish is found. / Checked the author's account of personally experiencing bitterness. / Checked that the account of Tang- and Song-era texts is secondhand.
Checked for this overview: Checked the description of young medicinal-plant shoots as the main ingredient. / Checked the article title identifying it as a Dong regional dish. / Checked the described order of bitterness, pungency, and aroma. / Checked the preparation method after feeding the animal medicinal plants.
Checked for this overview: Checked the description of the change from bitterness to sweetness. / Checked the method of adding bile and spices before reducing the liquid. / Checked its use as a seasoning for dry-pot niubie.
Other names: 牛瘪 (zh), niúbiě (zh-Latn), 牛瘪汤 (zh), 干锅牛瘪 (zh)
Follow the connections
Niúbiě →has a defining sensory theme→ bitterness →can be measured separately …→ astringency
Niúbiě →is documented in→ Dong
Structured claims — open a section to read each claim's confidence, evidence and limits
Composition and content (1)
Scope: The Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture in Guizhou Province (counties including Liping, Congjiang, Rongjiang, and Jinping) and parts of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region (including Sanjiang and Rongshui)
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dish-niubie —is_defined_as→ "Made by feeding cattle (sheep in some areas) medicinal herbs and forage just before slaughter, taking the not-yet-fully-digested plant residue (forage material) from the stomach and small intestine, pressing out the liquid, and simmering it on low heat with added cattle bile, Sichuan pepper, ginger, dried tangerine peel, and herbs. Also called "baicao tang" (hundred-herb soup)."How processing and cooking change it (2)
Scope: Dong and Miao residential areas of Qiandongnan, Guizhou.
Note: The source does not establish differences in quantities or medicinal-plant species across households and regions. Descriptions about hygiene and safety are excluded under this rule.
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dish-niubie —is_prepared_by→ "About half an hour before slaughter, cattle are fed young shoots and vine leaves of medicinal plants including kudzu root, mung bean, dangshen, shouwu, and danggui. After slaughter, undigested contents are removed from the stomach and small intestine, boiled with water in a large pot for about 30 minutes, and cooled before the liquid is squeezed out. Cattle bile, Sichuan pepper, ginger, dried tangerine peel, and aromatic herbs are added to the liquid, which is then reduced further over low heat."Scope: Home cooking and eateries in Qiandongnan, Guizhou.
Note: The article does not establish quantities or ratios.
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dish-niubie —is_used_in→ "Reduced niubie soup is itself added as a seasoning to 「干锅牛瘪」 (dry-pot niubie), a finished dish in which fresh beef, offal, and other ingredients are stir-fried, then simmered further over low heat after cooked niubie soup is added."Culture (3)
Scope: As above.
Note: Descriptions of the bitterness differ by source: one describes a shift from bitterness to sweetness, “刚入口时虽苦，但紧随而来的是爽口的甘甜” (in translation: "bitter at first, but immediately followed by a refreshing sweetness"), and another describes a bitter-pungent-fragrant sequence, “先苦，再辣，然后是牛肉的香” (in translation: "bitter first, then pungent, then the aroma of beef"). The intensity or mechanism of the bitterness is not generalized.
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dish-niubie —has_defining_sensory_theme→ sensation-bitterScope: Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou.
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dish-niubie —is_documented_in→ culture-dongScope: Classical Tang-, Five Dynasties-, and Song-era texts concerning ethnic-minority regions of southern China.
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dish-niubie —is_documented_in→ "Tang writer Liu Xun's 『岭表录异』 (Lingbiao Luyi) says “既饱，即以盐酪姜桂调齑而啜之。齑是牛肠胃中已化草，名曰‘圣齑’” (in translation: "After it eats its fill, ji is seasoned with salt, curds, ginger, and cinnamon and drunk; ji is digested grass from the cattle gut, called shengji"). Five Dynasties writer Wang Renyu's 『玉堂闲话』 (Yutang Xianhua) says “乃先取犊儿结肠中细粪，置在盘筵…彼人谓细粪为圣齑” (in translation: "Calf-colon dung is put on a feast tray and called shengji"). Song writer Zhu Fu's 『溪蛮丛笑』 (Ximan Congxiao) records “牛羊肠脏略洗，摆羮，以飨食客” (in translation: "Cattle and sheep intestines are lightly washed to make bai geng for guests"); this “摆羮” (bai geng) is described as corresponding to niubie."