King of Cow (Map)
This person is a very special man, I’ve decided to give him the nickname “NIU PI QI DA WANG” which means “King of Bullheadedness”. But don’t get me wrong, he isn’t a person who has a foul temper, in fact, I think he is a very chatty, friendly, warm and handsome man, obviously, I’d said all that out of politeness. So why is he called “Niu Pi Qi Da Wang” ? That’s because he’s very familiar with all the characteristics of cattle and beef. After all, this man sells “ngiu chap” for a living everyday, and “ngiu chap” is a term which refers to cow innards.
Kah Hiong Ngiu Chap is a shop that specialises in cow innards, their noodle dish is served with various cuts of beef and cow innards. It has numerous ingredients and a wide array of flavours. However, if the dish isn’t prepared properly the flavours of all the ingredients will clash with one another.
A peek inside the kitchen confirms that there’s indeed a dazzling amount of ingredients. However, the proprietor is able to capture the hearts of patrons with bowls of seemingly messy cow innards.
Patron: His is sweeter, it has a unique taste which is different from others. It’s more special.
Patron: All the ingredients are tasty, they’re very soft and delicious.
I could be exaggerating, preaching to deaf ears or just being totally irrelevant but I’m going to introduce “King of Cow Innards” now. I know he’s very reluctant to be called a “king”. He won’t accept the title because he’s very humble. So I’m giving him a choice.
Axian: Are you “King of Cow Innards” or “King of Bullheadedness”?
Shop Owner: I’m none of the above, you flatter me.
Axian: I can see that you’re making full use of all that is available to you. You’ve almost included all the parts of a cow.
Patron: Take tripe and intestine for instance, there’re many kinds of cow innards. Beef balls, cow tendon, plain beef, beef brisket, tripe, cow liver and even cow intestine.
Axian: Can you introduce the ingredients ?
Shop Owner: Beef balls, cow intestine, tripe, beef brisket, cow tendon, cow liver, cow tongue, herbal ribs soup, slices of raw beef, cow spleen and heart.
Axian: Does a standard bowl of Cow innards contain all these ingredients ?
Shop Owner: A standard bowl of cow innards consists of only tripe, beef brisket, cow tendon, sliced raw beef and beef balls.
Axian: Oh, so if you want the other ingredients, you’ve to ask form them.
Ngiu Chap Noodles – The piping hot soup is aromatic, it makes one’s mouth water. It is very rich and flavourful. Each of the innards is unique, although some don’t look appetizing, they are actually very flavourful and have a nice and springy texture. They fiery chilli sauce will make them taste even better.
Patron: When you’ve tried his dishes, you’d be back here for more.
Shop Owner: Beef brisket is the most popular part, because I use local beef brisket and I’d simmer it for 2 hours until it’s very fragrant.
Axian: Some think imported beef is superior but you’re saying local beef is better, why?
Shop Owner: Imported beef will take 2 to 3 months to arrive here from the abattoir, so it will lose its flavour during the shipping process. Local beef is comparably fresher because the delay is much shorter.
Axian: But many people are still using imported beef, right ? why ?
Shop Owner: Because imported beef is cheaper by half. To ensure that my dishes are tasty, I simply must use fresh ingredients.
To keep his dishes tasty, Shop Owner insists on using the best ingredients regardless of costs. His determination and perseverance made his stall famous within a short period of time.
Axian: This shop is called Kah Hiong (Hometown) Ngiu Chap, what’s the reason behind the name?
Shop Owner: Because I learnt how to cook cow innards in my hometown. When I was a student, I used to work in a restaurant during my vacation, and my father gave me a few pointers too. He would add daikons to the broth made from the bones.
The proprietor’s hometown is in Kudat, Sabah. A longing for hometown dishes has enabled the shop owner to serve innards that have a unique taste. Even after all these years, he has found memories of a bone broth that was concocted by his father. Hence it’s only natural that he emulates his father by adding daikons when cooking his cow innards.
The daikons will absorbs the broth, they will become sweet and tasty. As a result, the rich and flavourful cow innards will also have a light and refreshing aroma of daikons. The daikons are healthy because they contain dietary fibre.
Patron: It’s sweet because the daikons have neutralized the gaminess of the beef.
Cow Innards Soup is supposed to be a mix of different ingredients hence the Cow Innards Soup here is prepared with 3 different broths. The first is derived from cow bones, the second is a rich broth made with beef brisket and the last is daikon broth together with 2 pieces of daikon.
The broth is the most important element of the Cow Innards Soup, The shop’s Cow Innards Soup is actually a mix of 3 different broths. The aromatic beef brisket broth is made by simmering tender and flavourful beef brisket. It’s favourite among those who love intense flavours, others prefer the mild-tasting bone broth which is by no means bland. The ingredients of the bone broth must be simmered for 10 hours to release the flavours. The soup that goes on sale tomorrow will be prepared this afternoon.
The Chinese characters that represent Cow Innards Soup remind me of words such as “messy”, “disordered” and “sloppy”. And this is indeed a dish with a mix of different ingredients, if the dish is cooked correctly, each ingredient will taste good and all these flavours will combine harmoniously, if cooking isn’t done properly the flavour of each individual ingredient may be distorted. Dealing with numerous ingredients and ensuring that each is prepared correctly is no easy task.
Beef brisket – It has to be blanched it in hot water before you can cut it, after that, it has to be simmered for 2 hours, and then have to cook it in a pressure cooker to soften it.
Patron: His beef brisket isn’t gamey at all, certain cow innards tend to taste quite gamey.
Tripe – It has to be blanched in hot water prior to washing, washed tripe can then be sliced. Then, it is simmered for 2 hours until it becomes soft.
Tendon – It must first be blanched and then washed, after washing, it must be simmered for 7 hours before it softens.
Patron: The cow tendon is kind of like jelly, except that it’s much more gelatinous.
Raw beef – Cow thighs should be used because they’re less sinewy, the sinews must be removed. The meat is then cut into chunks and kept in the freezer. The hardened chunks of meat are then sliced the next day.
The making of Cow Innards Soup is a complex and chaotic affair. The appeal of this dish lies in its range of ingredients, however, the process of getting it ready is tedious and complicated, the preparation of the innards have to follow a specific order. The shop owner tirelessness washes, scrubs and blanches his ingredients every day, these steps may be mundane tasks but the secret to tasty cow innards lies in these systematic processes.
Patron: Innards generally contain impurities, they require many hours of cleaning, you’d need even more time to rid them of their gaminess.
The Cow Innards Soup has a clear and distinct colour, It has a rich and sweet taste, it isn’t gamey at all
Patron: The food here isn’t too salty or bland. The taste is just right. There’s a wide variety of ingredients to choose from.
In order to provide quality dishes, the shop owner spares no costs in acquiring the freshest and choicest ingredients. He also insists on making his own blend of chilli sauce.
A patron has told me that he’d buy more than 10 bottles of this chilli sauce whenever he’s here. This chilli sauce is an exclusive product offered by the shop and it’s called “Super Hot Chilli Sauce”.
Axain: Why is a cow innards vendor selling chilli sauce too ?
Shop Owner: Because the chilli sauce will add spiciness and flavour to the food.
Kah Hiong Ngiu Chap is a shop with only about 4 years of history but it has become a very popular shop. His loyal patrons followed him even when he’d relocated his shop. Looking back at the days when a cash-strapped Mr Yang struggled to sell more than 10 bowls of innards daily, one can’t help but marvel at the bustling scene here today.
This is testament to the proverb “He who endures shall achieve greatness”. By pursuing his field of interest with determination, diligence, a “hands-on” approach and a “never-say-die” attitude, Mr Yang was able to grow his fledgling business which can now be describe as a product of a man’s bullheadedness.
Add: Block A, Ground Floor, 2-0-10, Kolam Centre Phase 2, Hilltop, Jalan Lintas, Kota Kinabalu.
Note: Pork Free Outlet
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