The Nasty Bits: Chongqing-style Penis with Wolfberries [Valentine's Day Edition] Recipe

Thoughsomeingredientsin previous Nasty Bits entries bore some resemblance to today's featured item, this really is what you think it is. [Photographs: Chichi Wang]

Nasty Bits lovers, if you think I'm cooking heart for Valentine's Day, then you underestimate my mettle. Why talk about matters of the heart,when we've yet to cover penis?The Chinese believe the organ to possess all kinds of medicinal properties related to富有性能和一般健康。Though I harbored no presumptions about its libido-enhancing abilities, I was curious about the culinary merits of eating penis: Namely, is it delicious? Even more pressing, what does the organ taste like in the first place?

A quick search yielded the somewhat opaque answer that the penis is primarily vascular tissue, composed of tubes with names likevas deferens.但是，了解它的解剖分解，但我毫不犹豫地想象了这种口味。肉，脂肪，皮肤，肌腱，甚至软骨都是食肉动物暴露在内的所有部分。另一方面，由血管组织组成的器官呼唤海绵状质地，味道很少。对我来说幸运的是，我最喜欢的韩国市场经常携带包装牛肉"pizzle," the typical euphemism for penis,因此，获得器官是我最少的担心。

The first time I bring home an entirely new cut of offal, I start testing with a simple pan-fry in the trusty cast iron skillet. Doing so allows me to get a feel for the texture and flavor, a gauge for how I should proceed next. I cut a section of the pizzle into half-inch slices, salted and peppered, and tossed the pieces into the cast iron. The moment the pizzle hit the skillet, the slices of tissue, which were spongelike and soft when raw, seized up immediately, shrinking and curling into hard little sections resembling dried scallops. When I tried to eat the pan-fried pizzle, the texture was so tough as to be inedible; the more I chewed, the more the pizzle resisted my molars until finally,I gave up and spit it out.A long simmering, then, seemed the only option.

Stewing the pizzle was easier conceived than done. Having tossed the sections of penis into a beef oxtail soup, I found three hours into the cooking time that the meat was tender and cooked through, yet the pizzle seemed only slightly less tough than before. I retrieved the sections from the pot of soup and tossed them into a slower cooker before bedtime. The next morning, I awoke to find thatthe penis had been stewed into irreparable flaccidity:柔软而粘稠的质地质地柔软，块味道好奇地中性，甚至平淡无奇，而只是缺乏任何味道。

混淆，我通过电子邮件发送了Fuchsia Dunlop,食谱作者兼研究员非凡的人，要求她的建议和可能的食谱想法。（在几年前的一次采访中，邓洛普回忆说，在四川式的牛肉汤中吃了牛肉阴茎。）邓洛普善意地义务，并提供了有关如何进行的指示，并获得了她自己发现该部分并不特别美味的资格。正如邓洛普（Dunlop）所写：

I've found one recipe for Chonginq ox penis soup in a book: Chongqing is actually where I tasted it myself, and this soup is a local speciality. The recipe instructs you to peel off the outer skin, and then cut in half lengthwise along the urethra. Then clean and thoroughly soak in cold water for 30 minutes.

将其煮沸在大量的水中，然后脱脂，加入生姜，四川胡椒粉，shaoxing葡萄酒，一只老母鸡，然后不时地在温和的火焰上慢慢烹饪，以免粘在锅上。当它刚好一半以上时，将整个香料应重，然后煮沸，继续在V柔和的火焰上煮沸。几乎煮熟时，取下阴茎并切成咬大小的条，然后用一些Gouqi（Goji Berries，Wolfberries）返回锅，将其重新煮沸，然后煮至非常嫩。烹饪总共需要大约十个小时，并且在食用之前应将鸡肉放在其他用途​​（您不与汤中的阴茎一起食用）。食用前用盐调味，如果需要的话，请再吃一点猪油。

I went back to the Korean market for an old hen and more pizzle. Then, proceeding as per Ms. Dunlop's instructions, I whiled away Superbowl Sunday stewing the penis, checking every so often on its progress. By the eighth hour, the sections of pizzle had softened considerably; the broth had turned a golden yellow hue. By the tenth hour, the pizzle seemed to have thoroughly softened. I retrieved the penis from the broth, thinly sliced the sections, and seasoned with more salt and lard.

The warm slices of pizzle were slimy and sticky, with the texture of a cooked gummy.我将它们放在一边，等待一个小时左右，以使披萨冷却。然后，在酱油，醋和糖中穿上切片，我用切碎的香菜将整个混合物扔掉，然后尝试再次吃饭。牢固，披萨的质地大大改善，轴承a close resemblance to beef tendon.然而，味道仍然很平淡。即使是穿着酱油的衣服，披萨也没有牛肉肌腱的肉质。

The broth was heavily bodied, yet it was also strangely flavorless. The goji berries, one of my favorites additions to tea and hot pot, provided a pleasantly sweet flavor to the broth. The Sichuan peppercorns lent just a touch of their signature numbing sensation. Sipping it, I felt considerably warmer, though more no strengthened than usual.

小时炖，three pounds of beef penis,and one Fuchia Dunlop–inspired recipe later, I'm no closer to determining once and for all if pizzle is tasty to eat. That said, if prepared in the special Chongqing style, beef pizzle is not an altogether bad dish, especially given its purported benefit. Still, it probably won't be what I'd serve on the special day. Happy Valentine's Day to those who have found their better halves and those who are still seeking that special someone with whom to share a pig's head.