One of my guilty pleasures: steamed litid ng baka. Until recently, I only get to enjoy them from the dimsum cart of bigger Chinese restaurants. Then, I bought this tray of beef litid from Unimart, used some to make my beef and hofan noodle soup and, the rest, I cut into bite size pieces, arranged the pieces on small plates, garnished them with toasted garlic and chopped onion leaves, seasoned with a little light soy sauce mixed with grated ginger and steamed everything for 20 minutes (or, you can add the onion leaves just before serving if you want them crunchy). I served the steamed beef litid as an extra dish for lunch yesterday.
Although uncooked beef litid is very inexpensive, I can understand why steamed litid does not come cheap in Chinese restaurants. It takes about six hours of non-stop simmering to get the litid to that stage of tenderness when it literally melts in the mouth. And it is only when it has reached this stage when the litid can be fished out of the broth and cut into bite-size pieces to prepare them for the steamer. I suggest that you cut them into 2-inch lengths, then, arrange on a heatproof plate. I suggest not overcrowding the plate so that all pieces of litid get soaked in the seasonings and spices during steaming.
Do you happen to know if there is a Chinese name for the dish?
One of my favourite ‘dim sum’ dishes i love to order in chinese restos. I have no idea what it’s called in chinese. I only know it as ‘beef tendon’. I don’t think I’ll have patience to cook this myself. I’d rather keep ordering it at yum cha..hehe.
Merry Christmas Connie!
Connie,
The litid sold in supermarkets are ready for steaming? Or do I have to simmer first for 6hrs?
I see it in Makati Supermarket, but am not sure how to use it.
I love the beef litid too!
Try using tuhod ng baka – I use it for sinigang.
solraya, those are raw litid. you need to simmer them first.
love liitid, the whole family loves litid:)
Connie, thank you. It means I have to be home the whole day to look after it. I wonder if I can just put all the ingredients you mentioned in a crock pot?
solraya, yes, that’ll work.
Hi Connie, will i get similar results with a pressure cooker?
Merry Christmas!
peterb, yah, but cut the cooking time in half. 6 hours in the pressure cooker will liquefy the litid.
For the litid, my mom experimented by pressure cooking the litid for 30 minutes then boiled/simmered it for another 30 mins(total of 1 hr) and it turned out melt in your mouth type! A real savings on gas and time. The type of litid she got weren’t the thick ones though..so one may really have to adjust.
I was thinking of cooking a beef ligaments because I’ve tried a sizzling ligaments before at the Congo Grill and it taste good, but my mom-in-law told me that its bad for the health of my husband may lahi daw kasi silang high blood…is it bad for the body???
Jane, I think it’s better is you consult a doctor. Personally, I don’t think any food is bad so long as it is taken in moderation. However, people with medical histories may have different requirements.
I cannot call beef litid/tendons inexpensive anymore. Maybe 25 years ago, oxtail and tendons were practically giveaways at the supermarkeets- i remember 79 cents/lb. Now the white litids are about $2.99/lb and the oxtails $3.99/lb. Seems to be very popular meat cuts for both the Hispanics and Asian population. I use litid (pressure cooked) for callos, kare kare, and sometimes bulalo or nilaga. Yes it could be real time consuming preparing these delicacies but the end product is so worth it. When my kids were small, everytime they see the pressure cooker on the stove, they will always know we are having good “sabaw”for supper.
hi miss coney, may i ask where can i buy the LITID? is it available in supermarkets? thanks! my BF would definitely love this. =)
At Cherry’s (Shaw Blvd.).