Tender Beef Tongue
 | While growing up, Mom always made beef tongue. Eleanor Fong Dang, 99 years young, graduated from Kauaʻi High School. She grew up in Kapaia, where her family owned the Ah Chock Store. The store was popular for their Chinese seeds and sold other goods as well. Our family enjoyed beef tongue – a tasty, moist, and soft meat. As I got older, I was fascinated by its shape and referred to it as a large boot or shoe since it looked more like that than a cow’s tongue. I learned how to cook it by watching my Mom. When I prepared it for my guests at our office party, many tried it for the first time not knowing it was beef tongue. They were pleasantly surprised and didn’t realize it was such a tender meat. |
Ingredients:
| 2-3 lbs | beef tongue |
| 1 | small won bok cabbage, cut in 2-inch pieces |
| 2 | small carrots, cut into 2 inch pieces |
| 3 | large garlic cloves, smashed |
| 1 inch | ginger, smashed |
| 3 | large bay leaves |
| To taste | shoyu |
| Garnish | Chinese parsley |
Instructions:
- Rinse beef tongue then place in pot and cover with water
- Bring water to a boil, then reduce to medium heat for 10 minutes
- Remove tongue from pot and rinse
- Place tongue in clean pot and cover with water again
- Add ginger, garlic, and bay leaves
- Bring water to a boil, then simmer for 2 hours till tender
- Remove tongue and place on plate -- do not discard the water
- Carefully peel the white skin from tongue while still hot – easier to peel -- and discard skin
- Slice tongue
- Cook carrots in the water used to boil the tongue. Remove cooked carrots
- Gently cook won bok in the same water, strain and place on serving platter
- Arrange sliced tongue slices over bed of won bok
- Top with sliced carrots and garnish with Chinese parsley
- Tongue may be eaten with shoyu
Recipe submitted by Sharon Dang Sahara, Daughter of Eleanor Dang
