Sokkori-jjim (Braised Oxtail)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Large heavy pot or Dutch oven, 6 to 7 quart capacity
• •Fine-mesh strainer
• •Wide shallow braising pan, optional for final reduction
• •Fat separator or ladle for skimming

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak the oxtail

   Put the oxtail in a large bowl and cover with cold water by 2 inches. Soak 30 minutes, changing the water once if it turns very red. This pulls out excess blood so the braise tastes clean instead of muddy. Drain well.

2. 2

   Blanch and rinse

   Cover the oxtail with fresh cold water in a large pot and bring it to a hard boil. Boil 7 minutes, then drain. Rinse each piece under warm running water, rubbing away gray foam and loose bone bits. Wash the pot before the meat goes back in. This is not fussiness; it is the difference between a clear richness and a greasy heaviness.

   Do not skip the blanching. Oxtail has marrow and many cut bone surfaces, so it throws off more scum than a clean muscle cut.
3. 3

   Start the braise

   Return the rinsed oxtail to the clean pot with 10 cups water, the half onion, crushed garlic, ginger, scallion whites, and peppercorns. Bring to a boil, then lower to a gentle simmer and skim the surface for the first 15 minutes. Cover with the lid slightly ajar and simmer 2 hours, until the meat has begun to loosen but is not falling apart.

4. 4

   Strain and defat

   Lift the oxtail into a bowl. Strain the broth and discard the boiled aromatics. Let the broth stand 10 minutes, then skim off as much fat as you can from the surface. You should have about 4 cups broth; if you have more, boil it down, and if you have less, add water. The measured broth matters because the soy sauce has to season the pot, not drown it.

5. 5

   Mix the seasoning

   Stir together the soy sauce, grated pear, grated onion, mirin, brown sugar, rice syrup, sesame oil, minced garlic, and black pepper. Taste it on a spoon. It should be salty first, gently sweet second, and fragrant with garlic and sesame. If it tastes like dessert, you have gone too far.

6. 6

   Season the meat

   Put the oxtail back in the pot with 4 cups of the strained broth and the seasoning mixture. Simmer uncovered over medium-low heat for 35 minutes, turning the pieces every 10 minutes so the sauce reaches every side. The liquid should move steadily but not crash around the meat.

7. 7

   Add vegetables

   Add the radish, carrots, shiitake mushrooms, chestnuts, and jujubes if using. Continue simmering uncovered 35 to 45 minutes, gently turning the vegetables once or twice, until the radish is tender and the oxtail meat pulls easily from the bone with chopsticks. Add a splash of water if the sauce reduces before the meat is tender.

8. 8

   Reduce to gloss

   Raise the heat to medium and spoon the sauce over the meat for 8 to 12 minutes, until it reduces to about 1 1/2 cups and looks glossy from the gelatin. This final reduction is what makes it jjim. If it stays soupy, the flavor sits in the pot instead of clinging to the oxtail.

9. 9

   Taste and finish

   Taste the sauce only after it has reduced. Add up to 1/4 teaspoon salt if it needs sharpening, but do not add more soy sauce at the end or the sweetness and salt will become uneven. Scatter with sliced scallion, toasted sesame, and jidan strips if you made them. Rest 10 minutes before serving so the sauce settles back into the meat.

Chef Tips

• •Buy oxtail pieces of similar thickness so they finish together. If some pieces are all bone and no meat, save them for stock and use the meatier center cuts for jjim.
• •A pressure cooker is an honest modern vessel here. After blanching and rinsing, pressure-cook the oxtail with the first-braise aromatics and water for 45 minutes, natural release 15 minutes, then strain, defat, season, add vegetables, and reduce uncovered. 시대가 바뀌면 음식도 바뀌어야 해요. When times change, food must change too. The shortcut is pressure, not careless seasoning.
• •Make the jidan only if you have the patience for it. Yellow and white egg strips make the platter look cared for, but they are not the dish. The oxtail and its sauce are the center.
• •Serve with plain rice, a clean soup, and sharp banchan such as baechu-kimchi or dongchimi. Rich braised beef needs acidity beside it, not another heavy dish.

Advance Preparation

• •For the cleanest sauce, cook through the first braise one day ahead. Strain the broth, refrigerate the meat and broth separately, then lift off the hardened fat before continuing with the seasoning and vegetables.
• •The finished braise keeps 3 days refrigerated. Reheat gently with 2 to 4 tablespoons water, covered, until the sauce loosens and the meat warms through.
• •Do not freeze the finished vegetables if you can avoid it. The oxtail freezes well for 2 months, but radish and carrot lose their shape after thawing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 430g)