Cow dung hotpot, anyone? China’s ‘dark cuisine’ dish has deep cultural roots
The dish from Guizhou is prized for its cooling and digestive properties, smells better than it sounds, and tastes like bitter beef broth
The concept of this dish alone may be enough to make you sick to your stomach. Hailing from southwest China’s mountainous Guizhou province, the notorious cow dung or niubie hotpot is a stew that is made out of undigested grass from a cow’s stomach and intestines, as well as cow bile.
Also known as bitter or cow bile hotpot, this creation often falls into the category of “dark cuisine” in Chinese gastronomy, which refers to unconventional food combinations that challenge culinary norms.
Dishes under this umbrella can span from experimental dishes to “disgusting” ingredients that have gained popularity for their shock value or social media shareability. Yet, often, they are surprisingly pleasant to consume.
Upon entering the premises of niubie specialist Rong Jiang Niu Bie Huo Wo Dian, in Zunyi, 140km (87 miles) north of Guizhou’s capital Guiyang, we are surprised to find it is like any other hotpot restaurant – with no particularly unpleasant smells, and just a lot of people sitting down to green hotpots for dinner.
There is nothing repulsive about the smell of the concoction; if anything, it smells like Chinese herbal soup. Upon tasting, the first flavour is the familiar umami of spicy beef broth, but then the bitter notes of Chinese herbs soon bloom at the back of the palate.