What Is Fuqi Feipian?
Fuqi feipian is Sichuan appetizer dish usually served at room temperature. It consists of thinly sliced beef (most often heart and tongue) and tripe, tossed in a spicy numbing sauce made with chili oil, Sichuan peppercorns, garlic, sesame, vinegar, and a little sugar. The addition of aromatic Chinese celery, cilantro, and crunchy peanuts rounds out the flavors. It also has an interesting history behind it. In the 1930s, the dish was already widely available from street vendors in Chengdu, and popular due to its inexpensive ingredients. However, it was not yet known as “fuqi feipian,” which translates roughly—and perhaps unflatteringly—to “husband and wife lung slices.” It eventually got this name because there was one particular married couple in Chengdu who became famous for their version of the dish. And so, “fuqi feipian” was born (or at least, renamed!). While the dish does use beef offal, such as honeycomb tripe, heart, and tongue, I have never seen a version of the dish that includes lung—despite the fact that it’s in the name! Sources (um, Wikipedia) tell me that the character for “fei” (廢) initially used in the name means “waste parts” or offal, but that it was changed to the character for “lung” (肺 – also pronounced “fei”) to make the dish sound a bit more palatable. I’m really selling you on this right now, aren’t I?
Our Version
Okay, so if tripe isn’t your thing, you can feel free to stop here and skip over this post. However, documenting a recipe for fuqi feipian has been on our to-do list for YEARS. Whenever our family goes to a Sichuan restaurant, we order this as an appetizer. It’s a must. (Another must have? Dan Dan Noodles.) You just can’t beat the flavor and texture party this dish offers. The tripe is snappy and not the least bit chewy, and the honeycomb texture clings to the sauce beautifully. The flavor of the thinly sliced tongue and heart is robustly beefy and delicious as well. (Though, to make things easier for the home cook, we used beef shank in our recipe.) It has also become a favorite of Justin, my friend-turned-partner-in-crime. While Justin didn’t grow up eating tripe, or much authentic Chinese cuisine in general, we have a feeling he was Chinese in a past life, because he’ll eat it all! Bitter melon, grass jelly, and fuqi feipian can all be counted among his favorite foods. Who knows? Maybe you’ll give this recipe a try, and it’ll become one of your favorites too! Ok, on to the recipe.
Fuqi Feipian Recipe Instructions
Note that this recipe makes enough fuqi feipian to serve across 2 meals (about 6 servings each, 12 servings total). The recipe for the sauce is enough to dress half the meat/tripe. If you would rather make a smaller amount, you can cut the beef/tripe braising ingredients in half. Add beef shank and tripe to a large pot, and add fresh water to cover, along with the ginger. Bring to a boil, and boil for 1 minute. Drain and rinse the beef shank, tripe, and ginger thoroughly in cold water. Rinse the pot, and add the meat, tripe, and ginger back to the pot. Cover with fresh water, and add the scallions, along with the rest of the aromatic ingredients (the Sichuan peppercorns through the rock sugar). The braising liquid should taste seasoned, but not briny/overly salty. You have the option to add dark soy sauce, if you would like the meat to have a darker color, but it’s optional. Bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the meat to cool completely in the braising liquid before taking it out to cut (about 4 hours). The beef will continue to cook as it cools; it will fall apart if you try to cut it while it’s still hot. Make the dressing/sauce while you wait. Combine the braising liquid, chili oil, garlic, Sichuan peppercorn powder, sesame seeds, Chinese black vinegar, light soy sauce, sugar, and salt. Once the beef and tripe are fully cooled, you can remove them from the pot. Slice the beef and tripe very thinly on an angle (to get wider slices). For the beef shank, it can help to cut it in half lengthwise before slicing. Toss half of the sliced beef and tripe with the Chinese celery and the sauce. Top with the peanuts and cilantro, and serve!
