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A travel couple visits Rongjiang and Zaidong Dong Village in Guizhou's Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture to try niubie hot pot, the local 'cow dung' hotpot. In a Rongjiang restaurant kitchen they learn the broth is made from partially digested grass from a cow's first stomach, locally called hundred-herb soup, while tripe is blanched for just a few minutes. They squeeze the niubie by hand, walk the village to see families dyeing cloth with banlangen indigo, nail-free wooden stilt houses and the drum tower square, then share a firewood-cooked feast with villagers. At night they watch the village choir practise the Dong Grand Song under the drum tower.
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The creators open in Zaidong Dong Village, Guizhou, explaining that today's star dish is niubie hot pot, literally 'cow poop' hot pot. Along a street in Rongjiang almost every restaurant specialises in it. In one kitchen staff clean and cut beef tripe, which is blanched in boiling water for about three minutes, never ten, or it turns tough, then mixed with oil and soy sauce. The broth comes from a plastic bag of undigested grass from the cow's first stomach; locals call it hundred-herb soup because cows graze herbs on the mountains. Restaurants do not sell the juice alone, so the couple buys beef at the market and gets a bag of niubie for free. With Brother Luo of Zaidong they squeeze the grass by hand (no water added); the smell is strong and stomach-like. Villagers say it has always been made this way, children dislike it at first, and a cow is slaughtered for festivals such as the Dragon Boat Festival, the Sixth of June and eating new rice, and for weddings. Cooking uses a big firewood pot, with chicken and braised pork as backup dishes. Walking the village they see households dyeing their own cloth with dye made from banlangen, giving a shiny indigo fabric, and learn singing practice starts at eight thirty at the drum tower. Traditional wooden stilt houses use no nails or screws, and the drum tower marks the village centre and social hub. The hot pot is seasoned with Sichuan pepper, dried chillies, ginger and garlic before the green broth goes in. At the long table the tripe tastes grassy and a little bitter; the main hurdle is psychological. In Congjiang people eat it raw. Villagers talk about working in Zhejiang and Guangdong, singing since childhood and antiphonal love songs. At night about a hundred singers gather around eight or nine p.m. after farm work; Zaidong is described as the birthplace of the Dong Grand Song in Rongjiang, where about ninety percent of people can sing.
FAQs (From the traveler's perspective)
- Q: What is niubie hot pot made from?
- A: The broth uses partially digested grass from a cow's first stomach mixed with stomach juice, squeezed out by hand without adding water. Locals call it hundred-herb soup because cows graze mountain herbs. Beef and tripe are cooked in it.
- Q: Where can I eat niubie hot pot in Guizhou?
- A: On a street in Rongjiang, in Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, almost every restaurant specialises in niubie hot pot. The creators also ate it at a village feast in Zaidong Dong Village.
- Q: Does niubie hot pot smell bad?
- A: The raw niubie smells strongly of stomach contents, but after cooking with Sichuan pepper, dried chillies, ginger and garlic the smell almost disappears; it tastes grassy and slightly bitter, and one diner compared it to durian.
- Q: When do Dong people eat niubie hot pot?
- A: Traditionally at festivals and weddings, when a cow is slaughtered, such as the Dragon Boat Festival, the Sixth of June and eating new rice. Villagers say that now they can eat it whenever they want.
- Q: Is niubie eaten raw?
- A: In Congjiang, villagers said people eat raw beef dipped in raw niubie broth. In Rongjiang it is cooked as a hot pot.
- Q: When can I watch Dong Grand Song practice in Zaidong?
- A: Villagers practise under the drum tower at night, scheduled for eight thirty but starting nearer nine, after farm work and dinner. Around a hundred singers were expected that night.
- Q: How are Dong houses built?
- A: Traditional Dong houses are wooden stilt houses on foundation stones, with pieces fitted into each other and no nails or screws; even new houses in the village are built this way.
- Q: How do Dong villagers dye their cloth?
- A: They make their own indigo dye from banlangen, a plant that turns into dark mud-like dye; the cloth is dipped, dried and becomes a shiny blue fabric they sew into their own clothes.
