This is a favorite recipe in our household! A menagerie of seasonings surprisingly comes together into a rich, flavorful comforting broth.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds oxtails
- 1 strip dried orange peel (zest, not the pith)
- 1 teaspoon Chinese 5-spice powder
- 1 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, thinly sliced (or sub with a teaspoon of dehydrated ginger)
- Salt, at least a tablespoon, more to taste
- 1/2 cup of shelled, skinned, raw peanuts (can sub with 1 tablespoon peanut butter)
- 1/8 teaspoon chili pepper flakes (or more to taste)
- A handful of fresh Bok Choy or chopped mustard greens
Garnishes:
- Fresh cilantro, chopped
- Green onions, white and green parts, sliced on diagonal
- Freshly grated ginger
Recipe Preparation
- Trim the oxtail of any excess fat. Bring a large pot half-filled with water, to a boil. Add the oxtails. Parboil for 30 minutes. Drain the pot. Rinse the oxtails in water.
- Return the oxtails to the pot. Cover with water by an inch. Add the orange peel, Chinese 5-spice powder, ginger, and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer. Cover and let simmer for one hour.
- Add the peanut butter and simmer for 2-3 more hours, until the oxtail meat is tender and falling off the bone.
- At this point, you can either skim the fat off the soup and proceed to the next step, or let the soup cool, and chill it overnight in the refrigerator. The next day the fat will have solidified and will be easy to pull up from the top of the soup. The flavors will also have had more of a chance to blend and be absorbed by the oxtails if you let the soup sit overnight.
- Bring soup to a simmer. Add the chili pepper flakes and veggies. Cook for 5 more minutes, or until the mustard greens are tender.
Serve with garnishes of chopped fresh cilantro, green onions, and freshly grated ginger. Enjoy with a bowl of rice!
