In Vietnamese cooking, the most common type of tripe you will find is beef and it’s usually in accompaniment of beef pho. This adds to the taste of the bowl, while increasing the protein content.
Tripe is used in various forms of Asian cuisine, purposed in more than 100 dishes. In Vietnamese culture, we don’t waste any part of the cow or any animal we use. Anything that can be made to be edible, the Vietnamese make the most of it. This is sort of where tripe came from. And, thankfully, a lot of people love it. The idea of eating a stomach lining may not seem very appealing to some but is it any different from eating a muscle or soft tissue of an animal – we hardly think so.
For those who haven’t had it, tripe is a little bit like tofu in the sense that it has little to no flavor. Tripe tends to take on the seasonings of whatever’s around it. This is why it makes such a welcome addition to pho. The tripe sits in the pho, absorbs all those good herbs and moisture, and comes out as a sort of ‘pho in meat’. This adaptability also means it can be used in dishes spicy, sugary, salty, or otherwise. It can be sliced thin and prepared in any number of ways to make it more palatable depending on what’s being ordered.
Tripe is one of several protein sources that can be used in Vietnamese pho. Others include chicken, beef, seafood, pork, and others. Some phos will combine different proteins to come up with something even meatier. If you’re unsure about tripe, don’t think about it. Try it and taste it yourself. You’ll be surprised by how much flavor it takes on in pho and how delicious an addition it makes.
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