Oxtail soup

Hello everybody! Today’s recipe is for Korean style oxtail soup (called sokkoritang: 소꼬리탕 in Korean)! Many of you have requested this recipe over years but eventually today’s the day that I release it! It’s one of my new cookbook recipes, so some of you who have my book will be excited to open the page! For those who don’t have my book, don’t worry much because I plan to make videos for many of the recipes eventually.

Today while I was editing the video, I thought oxtail soup is perfect for the weather like today. New York is suddenly getting cold! You can warm up your body and spirit with a large bowl of oxtail soup, rice, and kkakdugi! Oxtail has lots of soft and juicy meat inside, so it’s very popular among Koreans. The soup by itself is clear and not greasy, so you will feel refreshing after eating it. To get clear broth, you will have to clean the bones by soaking them in cold water, and blanching, and washing in cold water. This process is very important to make this soup.

Another tip for this recipe is that you shouldn’t cook too long. I found out 2 hours simmering is perfect after cleaning the bones so that the tender meat is still intact to the bone.

Enjoy the recipe and be warm and happy in coming winter time!

Ingredients

Serves 4

For the oxtail broth:

• 2½ pounds to 3 pounds sliced oxtail
• 1½ pounds Korean radish (or daikon), peeled and cut in half lengthwise, if you use daikon, you don’t have to cut in half lengthwise
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• salt

For seasoning paste (optional):

• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons gochu-garu (Korean hot pepper flakes)
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil

For serving:

• 1 daepa (large green onion), or 4 to 6 green onions, chopped
• salt
• ground black pepper

Directions

Make the oxtail broth:

1. Trim away and discard any excess solid fat attached to the oxtail pieces. Place the oxtails in a large bowl and rinse a few times with cold water to remove any bone fragments. Cover with cold water and soak at least for 3 hours up to overnight, changing the water a few times.
2. Bring 10 cups water to a boil in a heavy and large pot over medium high heat. Add the oxtails and blanch for 12 minutes. Foam and bubbles will float on the surface and the water will be brownish. Drain and rinse the bones thoroughly.
3. Wash out the pot. Add the oxtail bones, radish, garlic, 2 teaspoons salt, and 16 cups water.
   Cover and cook over medium high heat for 20 to 25 minutes until it comes to a rolling boil.
4. Turn down the heat to between medium and medium low.
5. Simmer for about 2 hours until the radish is fully cooked and the meat is very tender but still attached to the bones.
6. Remove the pot from the heat. Transfer the bones and radish to a bowl and let cool. Put the bones in an airtight container and refrigerate.
7. Cut the radish into about ½ inch thick bite-size pieces. Put the radish in an airtight container and refrigerate.
8. Let the broth cool down to room temperature. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight, until the fat floats to the top and solidifies. If it’s cold outside, you can let it cool down on your porch, windowsill, or balcony.
9. Once the broth has cooled and the fat solidified on top, remove the fat with a skimmer and discard. You should be left with 9 to 12 cups of bone broth.

Make the seasoning paste:

1. Combine the soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic, and hot pepper flakes in a bowl and mix well. Cover and refrigerate.

Serve

Serve in a soup bowl:
Add the oxtail bones to the pot of broth and bring to a boil over high heat.
For each serving, put about ¼ cup chopped daepa in a large ceramic bowl. Top with 6 or 7 pieces of radish. Add a few bones and ladle the hot broth over top. Serve with the seasoning paste (if using), and set bowls of salt and ground black pepper on the table. Serve with rice and kkakdugi or any fermented kimchi. Everyone can add salt and pepper to their taste.

Serve in a Korean earthenware bowl (ttukbaegi):
Place about ¼ cup chopped daepa in an earthenware bowl and add 6 or 7 radish pieces on top. Then add a few bones. Add some broth and heat the bowl directly on the stove over high heat until it is bubbling. Add the seasoning paste (if using) and mix it in. Set bowls of salt and ground black pepper on the table. Serve with rice and kkakdugi or any fermented kimchi. Everyone can add salt and pepper to their taste.