Juye Guanzi Goat Soup 巨野罐子汤

Juye Guanzi Goat Soup (巨野罐子汤) is a breakfast food in Juye County (巨野县), Heze (菏泽), eaten with zhuangmo (壮馍), an oil-fried flatbread, and pickles. The broth combines goat bones, head meat and offal with local sweet-potato noodles.

Bones first, then meat and offal

In a China News Service report, local proprietor Kong Xiangjie (孔祥杰) specifies free-ranging goats from southwestern Shandong (山东), generally around a year old. Fresh bones, meat and offal are washed repeatedly. Bones enter the pot first, followed by meat, liver and stomach. A strong boil gives way to gentle cooking for more than four hours, until the broth becomes thick and white.

Noodles and aromatic seasonings

Kong adds local sweet-potato noodles, Sichuan pepper, pepper, minced ginger, scallion and coriander. He describes a smooth texture and a numbing-hot, savoury flavour. China News Service traces the soup’s name to the practice of transferring the cooked soup into earthenware jars to keep it warm for customers at Daxieji (大谢集) market.