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OXTAIL SOUP

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Serves: 4

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A delicious, light, yet satisfying soup with asian influences. This recipe is a result of the one and only time I've used oxtails in my own kitchen, and was probably the most successful dish I've ever created. Rich in complex flavors, but it takes a little while to make.

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Ingredients

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  • 1.5 kilograms oxtails this may seem like a lot, but the usable meat is actually quite a bit less than what it looks like to start)
  • 1 carrot
  • celery (2 ribs and the leafy stalks)
  • garlic (lots)
  • fresh root ginger (some)
  • fresh coriander (a fair bit)
  • 1 red pepper
  • 1 small onion
  • 3 medium spring onions
  • 1 teaspoon chilli (ground)
  • 1 teaspoon fresh coriander
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon peppercorns
  • 1 pinch of cinnamon
  • 1 lime
  • 750 ml beef stock
  • capellini pasta (or angel hair pasta - a little bit)

Method

Apologies for the some of the vague amounts listed in the ingredients, but I've never been one to measure accurately and believe cooking to taste is the way to go.

  1. Trim the excess fat from the oxtails. oxtails are very very fatty.
  2. Make your beef stock. coarse cut the carrot, onion, celery ribs, a bit of ginger and pull apart fresh coriander. combine in stock the trimmed oxtails, coarse vegetables, 5 or 6 bruised garlic cloves, fresh coriander stalks, and most of the coriander, peppercorn, cumin, chillies and cinnamon. you will boil this all for around an hour and a half. Now you will julienne your red pepper, the leafy stalks of celery, some ginger, 2 or 3 more garlic cloves, 2 or 3 green onions. you want a thickness of 1/16th of an inch, 1/8th at most. i suggest using a spoon to peel the ginger; it works like nobody's business. You now should be waiting for the oxtails to finish boiling. put on Neil Young's "Harvest" record and clean up. when you have completed your cleaning, relax. we chose to relax with some Tsingtao beer (China), which proved to be extremely good, and a bottle of Deinhard Piesporter Riesling, which was a tad sweet, but enjoyable. you should also be drawn to remarkable smell coming from your broth. you should smell it a few times and repeatedly taste it, remarking to your partner what a fine job you're doing. mmmmmm.
  3. when the broth is finished, strain it twice to remove the vegetables. these are now scrapped. remove the oxtails and set aside to cool. skim the fat from the broth.
  4. Put on your pasta. you may try rice, too, perhaps some jasmine rice packed into little bowls and upended to make those perfect little rice domes.
  5. when oxtails are cool enough to handle, remove the usable meat. this is a bit of a challenge. it is a fairly oily, sticky meat, and absolutely delicious. a paring knife works well for this. here is also where you discuss the fine qualities of this meat for, say, a terrine. nibble a bit of the meat. savour the soft meaty goodness.
  6. Combine the broth, pulled oxtails, and julienne vegetables except the red pepper, and bring to a boil again. add any more spice to taste. when brought to boil, you will use a slotted spoon and gently blanche the red peppers for a minute or two and remove them. (we wanted to retain the firmness of the peppers)
  7. Your soup is ready. serve over pasta. add your red peppers and fresh coriander on top. squeeze a few lime wedges over it. Eat. your mouth will be overjoyed at the flavour of this soup which is both rich and delicate. you should be able to taste every ingredient in a perfect balance. This recipe will serve 2 people with large appetites or four people with small ones. it would also make a lovely soup before the rest of a larger meal. you may want to try putting a bit of Masala curry paste into it for a more robust cumminy flavour. i myself, did not.

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