Tripe sour soup
Tripe sour soup is a traditional Romanian soup that is served in almost any restaurant you walk into. We pride ourselves on this tasty and filling dish. Generations teach their younglings the family recipe, and in my family, between my mom’s version and my dad’s version, my dad’s is definitely winning.
Even though it takes a few hours to achieve this golden deliciousness, I highly recommend it. In my family, we serve this soup at Christmas, New Year’s, or Easter. But we also make it whenever we crave it.
A few tips before starting the recipe: get good-quality tripe, not canned, if possible. Also, check the tripe for the meaty parts, as they add a ton of flavor. If your tripe is skinnier and you don’t have many meaty parts, you can add a bit of beef meat (like osso buco, for example). Although it is absolutely delicious as is, the soup intensifies in flavor the next day. So be sure to save a few servings for the next day. Or you can always do what we do and just double the recipe! You’ll be set soup-wise for the next few days.
I know, I know. Most people, when they hear about tripe soup, crunch their noses, make a disgusted face, and walk away. But hear me out: this recipe travels from generation to generation, intertwined between regions, and almost any restaurant in the country serves it. Can it really be that bad? I’d recommend you give it a go!
Get your ingredients ready, and let’s make ourselves an awesome tripe sour soup!
Tripe sour soup
Course: SoupsCuisine: EuropeanDifficulty: Medium16
servings1
hour3
hours164
kcal4
hoursTripe sour soup, known as “Ciorbă de burtă,” is a traditional Eastern European dish with roots in Romanian cuisine. This hearty soup features tender tripe simmered with vegetables and sour cream, creating a tangy and comforting flavor profile. Perfect for cold weather or special occasions, it embodies the rich culinary traditions of the region.
Ingredients
1.5 kg tripe
300 grams 15% fat sour cream
200 grams 3,5 % fat yogurt
4 large carrots
3 tablespoons neutral oil
3 eggs
10 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 tablespoon mustard
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons vegeta mix (all seasoning mix)
2 teaspoons black peppercorns
1 medium onion
Lemon juice – from 1 lemon
2 chili peppers – optional
2-3 tablespoons vinegar – only if required
Salt to taste
Directions
- Start by cleaning all the tripe, and if required, cut it into 1 cm wide and 4-5 cm long pieces. Place the pieces in a bowl once they are ready and cover with cold water. Set aside.
- Clean the garlic cloves, onion, and carrots. Grate the carrots on the side with the bigger holes, and cut the onion in quarters towards the root end, but don’t cut it entirely.
- Take a pot able to accommodate all ingredients (about 8 liters). Place it on medium heat. Add in the neutral oil, and once heated up, add the grated carrots and sauté them for about 1 minute until the oil gets an orange-ish color. Cover with boiling water to avoid burning the carrots.
- Drain the cold water from the tripe and transfer it to the pot carefully. Cover with boiling water so the cooking process doesn’t stop. Once simmering, add in the onion and bay leaves, lower the heat to low, and cover the pot. Cook until the tripe is ready, adding boiling water if required. If the tripe is fresh, the cooking process will take 2–3 hours.
- Close to the end of the 2-3 hour mark, mix in a bowl the yogurt, mustard, sour cream, and the three egg yolks. Place the egg whites in a different bowl. Once the tripe is ready, add in the black peppercorns, vegeta mix (all seasoning mix), mustard seeds, lemon juice, and slices of chili peppers (adjust the spiciness to your liking) and keep on low heat, covered, for an additional 5 minutes.
- Remove the lid and, with a ladle, slowly and gradually add 4-5 scoops of hot soup to the egg mixture while continuously stirring. Once the egg mixture is heated from the soup, gently pour the egg mixture into the pot. Stir, add 1-2 tablespoons of vinegar (only if required), and leave on low heat until simmering. Now, you can add the egg whites slowly in a constant, slim stream and cook for an additional 5 minutes. Take off the heat and add the crushed garlic cloves. Taste and adjust seasoning if required.
If you’d like to test out other absolutely awesome soups, I would recommend: the semolina dumpling soup or the meatball sour soup.
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