So I was cleaning out my freezer this morning and low and behold…I found a pack of beef tendon. One of my most favorite soups back when I lived in Vietnam was one of fresh egg noodles, a slightly spicy beef broth and beef tendon. Squeeze a bit of lime into it and your off to the races. Tendon is really good for you, as it is almost completely made up of gelatin, which is of course great for your skin.
So back to the freezer…I find this tendon and I really have no idea what to do with it. I need to go shopping and both my pantry and refrigerator are quite bare so I decide to, that’s right dumpster dive!
When I lived in SF, I would always have dumpster dive parties. Everyone would bring wine and I would cook without going to the store (well that may or may not be true). Most occasions I would have to get some protein from the store, seafood and the like but I would use all of the veggies, sauces and stuff that had been collecting around the house since the last party. If you have never done a party like this they are quite fun, and your guests get a wide range of snacks and a ton of wine to drink.
So this morning when I decided all of this, I started digging around to see what I could find (which wasn’t much). Napa cabbage, some top ramen noodles, 2 packets of soy sauce, some golden mountain sauce and the tendon is what I found. Well and some Pocky too, but I thought that they would go down better if I ate them while writing this than putting them into a soup.
Beef tendons take some time to cook, around 2 hours. Cover them with water, cover with a lid and simmer for 2 hours, remembering to check your water level and when your done you have a tender, tasty treat waiting for you. I then took the chopped cabbage (bout 3 cups), the 2 packets of soy and maybe a tablespoon and a half of golden mountain sauce and added this to the cooked tendon and around 3 cups of reserved braising liquid. Drop that package of ramen noodles in and simmer for 3 minutes and bingo, I had 3 servings of a tasty ramen soup with beef tendon and napa cabbage. A perfect dish for a hot, or warm summer day.
BTW, the kitchen is arriving tomorrow so you;ll start to see some menu items appearing instead of me dumpster diving my home kitchen 
.
Best,
chefRob
Ah! Just the treatment I needed. 2 hours of simmering for beef tendon you say?
I am a big fan of Vietnamese pho soup, which is pretty common. I usually get just tendon in the soup…
…I’m getting this urge to try and experiment with it in dishes. Whether or not it impresses my friends, who knows.
Where’s a good place to buy it? Email me if needed… I’d appreciate it!
KW
Kyle,
Thanks for stopping by and the comment. I looked around and you might find tendon at the following markets,
Manila Hongkong Store, Sparks
Asian market, Sparks
If they do not have it I am sure that they can point you in the right direction.
best…chefRob
Hey chefRob!
Oddly I was scouring the expanse of the Internet again and forgot I dropped this message, yet I found it!
The stores you mentioned didn’t have it, in fact one is closed… BUT… my favorite Asian market finally started carrying it! I just bought another 3 lbs. of it today.
My experiments since then have gotten me into pressure cookers, since I love taking cheap and almost “inedible,” meats and making them do my bidding. So far, so good! Ham hocks, pig ears, pork knuckles, and beef tendons all give up their goodness in less than an hour.
I’m still having a hell of a time trying to find decent and simple recipes for tendon. I’ve ruined a few pounds of tendon following certain recipes and ended up doing something wrong, maybe getting bad/stale spices that didn’t live up to their potential? Or it was just a bunk recipe. Oh well, it did teach me a few things.
I’m thinking about combining a few basic American beef stew recipes and melding them with more Asian tastes, ala five spice or maybe going with chili/cardamon. Cabbage, celery and things that keep their “crunch,” yet don’t overwhelm the subtle flavor of the tendons have worked well in my error recipes that I either botched or didn’t have the right ingredients.
Anyhow, glad I could find this thread again and re-comment, thanks for getting back to me!
KW
KW – in case you ever come back to this message, a great stew dish is Vietnamese bo kho. Beef, tendon, carrot, five spice flavors… served with baguette. Drool.