27222 Sat Jan 03 19:15:47 -0800 2004 2 1 San Francisco Bay Area 0 111802 Out of curiosity about the kinds of things they sell, I wandered around the Ranch 99 Chinese supermarket in Cupertino the other day. Among the many things they have is a prepared hot food corner where they have tables, with a counter area with a few barbecued ducks hanging behind the glass, which I've seen before in Chinatowns. One of the available soups on tap was one described as 'blood with guts' which sounded thoroughly hideous. Can someone explain what this soup is exactly, and can someone explain the appeal of this kind of soup to someone with relatively tame Western sensibilities? Sat Jan 03 19:15:47 -0800 2004 0 Marty 1 111824 the soup is a actually pork intestines, pork blood and pickled sour cabbage and ginger soup. this is one of the most common and popular soups in china eaten morning noon and night. it's one of my favorite soups to have in the morning. the soup itself is mostly just clear tangy soup flavored by the ginger and pickled cabbage. the pork blood adds no flavor and is only there to supply a tofu like texture. it's almost like tofu but when cooked right, is a bit more delicate but firm at the same time. when cooked wrong, it's like liver. the intestines is just chittlings and that's usually the best part. intestines and pork blood is a classic chinese combination found in a few other dishes. Sun Jan 04 00:47:28 -0800 2004 111802 0 miles chen 1 111840 The translation could have been done better. Like the other poster said, it's a very authentic Chinese soup and some people love it. Sun Jan 04 13:43:57 -0800 2004 111802 0 Wendy Lai