But if you mention snacks to a Cantonese, his first reaction may be beef offal, because Cantonese really love beef offal.
Many Cantonese people grew up eating beef offal snacks on the street. For Cantonese, beef offal may be the taste of home. Some netizens in Guangdong even set up a beef offal association online, saying that they would fight for the cause of beef offal for life!
So what is the magic of Guangdong's beef offal? Let's start with the history of Guangdong beef offal.
According to legend, there was a cold disaster in Lingnan in the Qing Dynasty, and people's demand for beef, mutton and other meat increased. The famous chef has run out of beef and mutton and can't come up with anything decent to entertain the guests. So he had a brainwave, stewed the remaining beef offal and white radish in a pot, and then added various seasonings. As a result, the stew overflowed the house and floated all over Xiguan, which was amazing. From this, we can find two key points. One is that Guangdong beef offal originated from Xiguan, and the other is that Guangdong beef offal is really delicious.
At first, beef offal was just waste that could not be served on the table. Later, Cantonese people mixed all kinds of spices and herbs with suitable heat, so that the taste of beef offal took root on the tip of Cantonese tongue. About 40 years ago, beef offal began to be sold everywhere as snacks. Many young and middle-aged people in Guangdong grew up eating beef offal stalls in the streets, and many children who used to pester their parents to buy beef offal now come back with their own children.
On the streets of Guangdong, you can occasionally see some old-fashioned simple trolleys with one or two iron pots on them. The owner of the cart has a pair of scissors in his hand, and sometimes someone eats a small bowl on the side. He ate the most authentic Cantonese beef offal. Beef offal is stewed in an iron pot. There are refreshing beef lungs, beef hearts, beef louvers, tough beef tripe, beef intestines, crispy beef tendons and crispy beef bones. As long as you come to a bowl, you can eat all kinds of flavors.
The preferred way for Cantonese people to cook beef offal is radish beef offal. Radish and beef offal are not easy to cook. They have been stewed in the pot for a long time, and the taste of radish and beef offal blends well. Sweet and soft radish and delicious beef are simply a must.
In addition to radish, there are soup-absorbing side dishes such as Chinese cabbage and gluten, as well as fish eggs with Guangdong characteristics. Some stores will also put some staple foods such as rice noodles or pork rolls in the pot, and 20 yuan can guarantee a delicious meal.
There is a well-known beef offal in Guangdong called "Apo beef offal". Because grandma is getting older and her physical condition is getting worse and worse, the frequency of grandma's beef offal stalls is from once a week to once a month at the beginning, and then from time to time. Every time there is a stall, there is a long queue in front of the car. While everyone is concerned about grandma's physical condition, they can't help but worry that grandma's beef offal will never be eaten again.
Beef offal is still an indispensable snack in Guangdong, but what we see in the streets and lanes of Guangdong now is more of a chain of beef offal shops. Their storefronts are bright and look much cleaner than the previous carts, but they always seem to be less delicious than they remember.