Oxtail Soup (Hawaiʻi Local Chinese-Rooted Beef Soup)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 8-quart stockpot or Dutch oven with lid
• •Fine-mesh skimmer or wide spoon
• •Small grater for fresh ginger

Instructions

1. 1

   Blanch the bones

   Put the oxtails in a heavy pot and cover with cool water by a few inches. Bring it to a hard boil for 10 minutes, until the first scum rises and the water goes cloudy, then drain, rinse the bones, and wash the pot. That first boil is the Chinese auntie move for a clean broth. You are not throwing away the soul. You are washing the noise off it.

2. 2

   Build the pot

   Return the rinsed oxtails to the clean pot with 12 cups cool water, the strained mushroom soaking liquid, peanuts, shiitake caps, onion, garlic, sliced ginger, star anise, dried peel if using, and salt. Bring it just to a boil, then drop it to a quiet simmer and skim the top until the broth settles clear and amber.

   Keep the pot generous. Oxtail needs room and water over the bones the whole way, or the broth turns heavy and the meat cooks uneven.
3. 3

   Simmer it soft

   Cover the pot partly and let it murmur for 3 1/2 to 4 hours, adding water when needed to keep the oxtails covered. Don't let it roll hard. A rough boil makes the broth greasy and cloudy, and this bowl wants patience. The meat is ready when a chopstick slides in with no fight and the tendon around the bone turns soft and glossy.

4. 4

   Add daikon

   Lift out the onion, garlic head, star anise, and peel if you want a cleaner bowl, then stir in the shoyu and daikon. Simmer 30 to 40 minutes more, until the daikon turns tender and almost translucent but still holds its shape. Taste the broth now. Salt it until it tastes rounded, not sharp.

5. 5

   Finish the greens

   Add the kai choy or bok choy and cook 5 to 8 minutes, just until the stems soften and the greens turn deep and glossy. Skim off any heavy fat from the surface. Leave a little shine, yeah? That is part of the comfort, but the bowl should not eat oily.

6. 6

   Serve local style

   Ladle oxtail, peanuts, daikon, greens, mushrooms, and clear broth into big bowls. Scatter green onion and cilantro over the top. Serve with hot white rice and a small saucer of grated ginger mixed with shoyu, so everybody can dip the meat right off the bone. Chili pepper water can sit on the table if your house eats that way. No need make it fancy. This is Hawaiʻi Local comfort, spoon in one hand, rice on the side, somebody already asking for the next bowl.

Chef Tips

• •Ask for meaty oxtail pieces with some big joints and some smaller pieces. The big ones give marrow and collagen, the small ones give up faster, so the pot eats balanced.
• •Oxtail used to be a humble cut. Now it can cost plenty. No shame mixing in beef shank, neck bones, or short rib if that is what the budget allows. Eat what you have.
• •Raw peanuts are the old-school move for this bowl because they soften into the broth. If all you have is roasted unsalted peanuts, add them for the last 45 minutes so they do not turn bitter.
• •A clean broth comes from blanching, rinsing, and simmering low. Technique matters, but sourcing comes first: bones from a butcher who turns stock often will taste better before you touch the pot.
• •The ginger-shoyu on the side is not decoration. Dip the meat into it, take rice, take broth, go back again. That is how the bowl talks.

Advance Preparation

• •Soak the raw peanuts and dried shiitake mushrooms the night before; strain and save the mushroom soaking liquid for the broth.
• •Oxtail soup is better the next day. Cook it through the daikon step, chill it overnight, lift off the firm fat cap, then reheat gently and add the greens before serving.
• •Freeze leftovers without the greens for up to 2 months. Reheat low and add fresh greens, green onion, cilantro, and grated ginger at the table.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 875g)