Chef Jeong-sun
Al-tang (Fish Roe Stew)
A weeknight fish roe stew with radish and crown daisy in a clean spicy broth, where the whole success depends on adding the roe late enough that it sets tender, not chalky.
Culinary Explorer
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Kkori-gomtang (Oxtail Soup)
Created by
Oxtail simmered slowly until the broth turns pale and rich, served plain with scallion, salt, pepper, and rice so the meat and bones can speak clearly.
Soups & Stews
Korean
Comfort Food
Make Ahead
Special Occasion
35 min
Active Time
4 hr 30 min cook•13 hr 5 min total
Yield4 to 6 servings
Kkori-gomtang lives or dies before the long simmer begins. Blanch the oxtail hard, wash the bones clean, and change the water. Skip that and you don't get a clean broth, you get a cloudy pot with a tired smell. The time is long, but the work is plain.
My teacher made this for students who looked thin after exam season. She did not sweeten it, darken it with soy sauce, or crowd it with vegetables. Oxtail, water, a little radish if the season is cold, and enough patience for the joints to loosen. The seasoning waits until the bowl, because each person needs a different hand with salt.
I won't tell you this is quick. It asks for a blanch, a rinse, four hours of simmering, and preferably a night in the refrigerator so you can lift away the fat. That is the honest schedule. What you receive back is a pot that feeds several meals and gets deeper each time. 손맛 is real. I still measure it, so it can be handed on.
Gomtang and gomguk belong to Korea's long-simmered beef soup family, made by drawing nourishment from meat, bones, and tough cuts at a time when cattle were valuable working animals and no part was treated carelessly. Kkori-gomtang, using the tail joints, became especially suited to modern butcher shops and home freezers because oxtail could be cut cleanly across the bone and simmered until collagen gave the broth body. It is not a palace dish dressed for ceremony, but a household and restaurant soup of patience, served with salt and scallion so the broth stays itself.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
oxtail
Quantity
1.5kg
cut across the bone into 2-inch pieces
cold water
Quantity
as needed
for soaking and blanching
water
Quantity
14 cups
for the main broth
Korean radish (mu)
Quantity
250g
peeled and cut into 2 large chunks
onion
Quantity
1/2 large
peeled
garlic cloves
Quantity
6
lightly crushed
fresh ginger
Quantity
2 slices, each about 1/4 inch thick
large scallion whites
Quantity
2
cut into 3-inch lengths
kosher salt
Quantity
2 teaspoons, plus more for serving
freshly ground black pepper
Quantity
1/2 teaspoon, plus more for serving
scallions
Quantity
3
thinly sliced, for serving
cooked short-grain rice (optional)
Quantity
to serve
kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi) (optional)
Quantity
to serve
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| oxtailcut across the bone into 2-inch pieces | 1.5kg |
| cold waterfor soaking and blanching | as needed |
| waterfor the main broth | 14 cups |
| Korean radish (mu)peeled and cut into 2 large chunks | 250g |
| onionpeeled | 1/2 large |
| garlic cloveslightly crushed | 6 |
| fresh ginger | 2 slices, each about 1/4 inch thick |
| large scallion whitescut into 3-inch lengths | 2 |
| kosher salt | 2 teaspoons, plus more for serving |
| freshly ground black pepper | 1/2 teaspoon, plus more for serving |
| scallionsthinly sliced, for serving | 3 |
| cooked short-grain rice (optional) | to serve |
| kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi) (optional) | to serve |
Equipment Needed
- •Large heavy stockpot, 8-quart or larger
- •Large colander
- •Fine skimmer or ladle
- •Storage container for chilling and defatting
Instructions
- 1
Soak the oxtail
Put the oxtail in a large bowl and cover with cold water by 2 inches. Soak 1 hour, changing the water once halfway through. This draws out excess blood so the broth tastes clean instead of muddy. If your oxtail is very fresh and pale, 30 minutes is enough.
Do not soak overnight. The meat loses flavor into the water, and you need that flavor in the pot. - 2
Blanch hard
Drain the oxtail and put it in a large pot. Cover with fresh cold water by 2 inches and bring to a full boil over high heat. Boil hard for 7 minutes. The foam and gray scum that rise now are not broth, they are what you are removing.
- 3
Wash the bones
Drain the oxtail into a colander and rinse each piece under warm running water, rubbing away any dark clots around the bone. Wash the pot too. This is the step that separates a clean kkori-gomtang from a careless one, and there is no shortcut for it.
- 4
Start the broth
Return the clean oxtail to the clean pot with 14 cups water. Bring to a boil, then lower to a steady gentle simmer. Skim the surface for the first 20 minutes. Keep the lid slightly open so the broth reduces slowly and does not boil itself cloudy in the wrong way.
- 5
Add aromatics
After the first 20 minutes of skimming, add the radish, onion, garlic, ginger, and scallion whites. Simmer gently for 2 hours. The radish sweetens the broth and gives you a clean vegetable note, but it should not take over. If it softens early, lift it out and save it for serving.
- 6
Simmer until tender
Remove and discard the onion, ginger, and scallion whites. Keep simmering the oxtail 1 1/2 to 2 hours more, until the meat yields when pressed with chopsticks and starts to loosen from the joints. Add hot water if the bones are no longer covered. Cold water shocks the simmer down; hot water keeps the broth moving.
- 7
Season lightly
Stir in 2 teaspoons kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. This is not the final seasoning. It is only enough to wake the broth before serving, because kkori-gomtang is finished at the table with salt, pepper, and scallion to each person's taste.
- 8
Chill and defat
For the cleanest soup, cool the pot, then refrigerate it 6 hours or overnight. Lift off the firm fat cap before reheating. You may serve it the same day, but chilling lets you remove fat without stealing broth, and the flavor settles into itself.
- 9
Reheat and serve
Reheat the soup gently until the broth is fully hot and the meat is tender again. Slice the cooked radish into thick pieces and return it to the pot if using. Serve each bowl with oxtail, broth, sliced scallion, extra salt, black pepper, rice, and kkakdugi. The soup should taste rich but restrained, with the salt sharpening the beef rather than covering it.
Chef Tips
- •Choose oxtail pieces with meat around the bone and a little fat, not bare bone. The collagen in the joints gives body, but meat gives the broth sweetness. You need both.
- •A pressure cooker is an honest modern vessel here. After blanching and washing, cook the oxtail with 10 cups water at high pressure for 55 minutes, natural release 20 minutes, then simmer uncovered 30 minutes with the aromatics. The safe corner to cut is time, not the blanching and washing.
- •Do not season the whole pot heavily. Kkori-gomtang belongs to the family of soups finished at the table, so keep the base restrained and let each bowl take scallion, salt, and pepper.
- •The broth may look pale ivory rather than restaurant-white. That is fine. Some shops boil bones hard for a milkier look, but at home I prefer a steady simmer and a clean taste.
Advance Preparation
- •Make the soup 1 day ahead if you can. Overnight chilling lets the fat lift off cleanly and gives the broth a rounder taste.
- •Cooked oxtail and broth keep 4 days refrigerated. Reheat only what you plan to serve, because repeated boiling makes the meat stringy.
- •For longer storage, freeze broth and oxtail together in meal-size containers for up to 2 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat gently.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 740g)
Calories
470 calories
Total Fat
14 g
Saturated Fat
5 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
8 g
Cholesterol
85 mg
Sodium
1350 mg
Total Carbohydrates
50 g
Dietary Fiber
3 g
Sugars
3 g
Protein
34 g
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