Lingling Upturned Steamed Beef 零陵牛扣
Lingling Upturned Steamed Beef is featured among the local specialties of Hunan.
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Lingling Upturned Steamed Beef (零陵牛扣) is made with skin-on beef in Shuikoushan (水口山), Lingling District (零陵区). Long steaming softens the meat, while the skin keeps a chewy, gelatinous texture. Rednet writer Feng Xiangfa (冯祥发) describes the preparation at the town’s Gengshiji restaurant (耕食记).
How it is made
The cook selects locally free-grazed yellow-cattle beef with the skin attached. Washed beef starts in cold water for blanching, then is removed and cooled. It returns to cold water with aromatic seasonings and is cooked until partially done.
After cooling again, the beef is cut into slices, mixed with seasonings and arranged skin-side down in a steaming dish. Once steamed until tender, it is inverted into a serving bowl.
Flavour and texture
Feng describes glossy red slices scented with ginger, scallion, star anise, cinnamon bark, tsaoko, dried red chilli and sauce. The slices hold together when lifted with chopsticks, but the meat is soft in the mouth and the skin has a sticky richness.
Sources & reading
Written from the linked sources and checked sentence by sentence against quoted extracts by a separate reviewer on 2026-09-27. Recipes and servings vary between kitchens.