Aromatic Chinese Oxtail Stew Recipes

CHINESE BRAISED OXTAILS

Steps:

• Clean the oxtails and pat them dry. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat and brown them on all sides.
• Remove the oxtails and set aside on a plate. To the pot, add the ginger, garlic, star anise, cloves, and bay leaves. Cook for about 2 minutes.
• Now it's time to add cooking wine, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, rock sugar, water, and salt (careful with the salt, as the soy sauce is already quite salty).
• Add the oxtails back to the pot, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 2 to 3 hours, depending on how tender you like your oxtails. Check halfway through and add more water if needed.
• Uncover, and continue simmering for another 30 minutes until the meat is tender and most of the liquid has evaporated. Stir occasionally, and add additional water if necessary to avoid sticking. Serve!

AROMATIC CHINESE OXTAIL STEW

Steps:

• 1. Heat oven to 300 degrees. Season oxtails with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large ovenproof pot with a tight-fitting lid. Working in batches if necessary to avoid crowding, brown oxtail all over, removing each piece when done. Add oil as needed. 2. When done browning, pour off extra fat from bottom of empty pot and set pot over high heat. Add wine and bring to a boil, scraping up browned bits. In a bowl, mix soy sauce and sugar with 2 cups water and pour into pot. Add star anise, 2-inch pieces of scallions, ginger and garlic and bring to a boil. Turn off heat. Return oxtails to pot and add orange zest. Cover and transfer to oven. Cook 1½ hours. 3. Turn over pieces of oxtail, cover again and cook 1½ hours more, or until oxtail is very tender. Transfer oxtail pieces to a baking dish. Strain sauce into a separate saucepan; discard contents of strainer. Cover oxtails and sauce and refrigerate overnight. 4. The next day, heat oven to 300 degrees; remove oxtails and sauce from refrigerator. Lift off any fat on surface of sauce and discard. Gently warm sauce until liquid, then pour over oxtails. Cover with foil or a lid and bake 30 minutes. 5. Uncover, stir and raise oven temperature to 400 degrees. Cook, uncovered, 15 minutes. Stir again and cook another 15 minutes, until hot and glazed thickly with sauce. Meanwhile, squeeze ¼ cup juice from orange. Remove oxtails from oven, stir in orange juice, and serve in bowls over rice. Sprinkle each serving with thin scallion slices. Yield: 4 servings.