Baodu (Flash-Boiled Tripe)

Baodu is a classic old-Beijing snack: fresh beef or lamb tripe cut into pieces and "flash-boiled" for mere seconds, then dipped in a sesame sauce — crunchy, tender and bracing, a signature taste of temple fairs and night markets.

A representative of old Beijing's halal cooking, baodu was long a staple of street stalls and temple fairs, prized for being cut and boiled to order in a flash — carrying the city's lively street-food culture.

The tripe is cut by section into strips and blanched in boiling water for precisely timed seconds depending on the cut, then lifted out and dipped at once in sesame paste, chive flower and chili oil — best eaten piping hot.

Everything rests on timing and a single ideal — crisp yet tender: a moment too long and it toughens, too short and it is raw; done right it is springy and crunchy, growing more savory with each chew, a true test of the cook's touch.