Ito Family Oxtail Soup

Ito Family Oxtail Soup

Serves 8
Oxtail is a well marbled cut, loaded with collagen and flavor. A Hawaiian twist on a Chinese-inspired soup, this brothy bowl combines savory flavors of fall-off-the-bone oxtail with a gingery kick. Dip the meat and vegetables in a ginger-soy sauce and eat with rice for a comforting meal.

Ingredients

  • GINGER-SOY SAUCE:
  • 8 ounces fresh ginger root (peeled and roughly chopped)
  • Soy sauce (to taste)

OXTAIL SOUP

  • 5 pounds oxtail (roughly 11 large pieces) (fat trimmed)
  • 3 star anise
  • 1 bunch green onions (white parts cut into 1-inch pieces and green parts thinly sliced for garnish)
  • 1-inch piece fresh ginger root (peeled and cut into 1/4-inch slices)
  • 5 dried orange peel pieces
  • 1 cup raw unsalted peanuts (shelled)
  • 1/2 pound shiitake mushrooms (stems removed and mushrooms halved)
  • 2 1/2 ounces dried kombu kelp knots (rinsed)
  • 1 small daikon (peeled, halved, and cut into 1/2-inch slices)
  • 2 1/2 pounds mustard cabbage (roughly chopped and blanched)
  • Kosher salt (to taste)
  • Soy sauce (See Cook's Tips)

Optional Ingredients

  • 1 bunch cilantro (chopped)
  • Cooked rice

Directions

  1. For sauce:
  2. Add chopped ginger to blender with 3/4 cup water and blend until finely grated.
  3. Mix with soy sauce, to taste, and set aside in refrigerator until soup is complete.
  4. For soup:
  5. In a large pot, add oxtail and water (enough to fully submerge oxtail pieces by at least one inch of water) and boil 45 to 60 minutes.
  6. Remove from heat, strain out oxtail, and rinse under cool water, cleaning off any fat or grease that was released during initial boil. Trim additional fat, if needed.
  7. Place oxtail back into clean pot with fresh water (at least one inch above oxtail) and bring to a boil.
  8. Place star anise, white parts of green onion, ginger slices, and orange peel into a cheesecloth bag and add to soup. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer 1 hour, skimming fat that occasionally floats to the surface (see Cook's Tips).
  9. Add peanuts, mushrooms, and kelp, and continue cooking 2 hours or until peanuts and meat are tender. Add water, as needed, if broth level begins to get low.
  10. Add daikon and continue to simmer 30 to 45 minutes, until tender. Season broth, to taste, with soy sauce and salt.
  11. To serve, portion each bowl with oxtail, vegetables, and broth. Add ginger-soy sauce, to taste, and top with chopped cilantro and sliced green onions. Serve alongside rice and additional ginger-soy sauce for dipping.

Cook Tips

We used Aloha brand soy sauce and like it for its balanced flavor profile.

Removing fat with a skimmer will result in a clear broth and prevent surface of soup from becoming greasy.

Kelp is available in sheets or knots. We use knots in this recipe so they hold their shape better during the lengthy cooking process.

Nutrition

Amount Per Serving (based on 8 servings)
  • Calories: 590
  • Fat: 0.0 g
  • Saturated Fat: 1.0 g
  • Trans Fat: 0.0 g
  • Cholesterol: 170.0 mg
  • Sodium: 1540.0 mg
  • Carbohydrates: 16.0 g
  • Fiber: 6.0 g
  • Added Sugars: 0.0 g
  • Sugar: 0.0 g
  • Protein: 59.0 g