Weihui Duji Beef 卫辉杜记牛肉

Where it comes from

China's Ministry of Commerce registry of time-honoured brands (中华老字号) records that the beef was first called Du Ji beef, or the old Du family's beef, and was founded in 1856, the sixth year of the Xianfeng reign. In 1948 Du Shikui (杜世魁), the fifth-generation inheritor, moved from Huixian (辉县) to Weihui, kept the family trade and refined its traditional beef-cooking method; the beef now carries his name. The producer is Weihui Shikui Halal Meat Products (卫辉市世魁清真肉制品有限责任公司).

The same registry notes that the making technique is on the Xinxiang municipal intangible cultural heritage list, and that the beef was named a Chinese famous food (中华名吃) in the third national selection. CCTV's Live China programme presents Weihui beef as a speciality of Weihui city.

In 2018 Dahe, the Henan Daily news site, reported that Shikui showed traditional gift boxes and a new line of small snack packs at a national farm-produce matchmaking event in Zhengzhou (郑州), while most of its beef was still sold loose in the local area.

How it is made

Weihui Duji Beef starts from yellow cattle raised in northern Henan and aged one to three years. The seasoning is dozens of Chinese medicinal herbs, and the meat goes through several stages, including sterilising, curing and steaming or boiling. The registry does not name the herbs.

Flavour and texture

CCTV describes the beef as bright in colour and the same inside as outside, tender and fragrant, with the flavour going right through to the bone.

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