A Hearty Herbal Oxtail Soup

Ingredients:

• 1kg Oxtail, cut
• 3 liter Water
• 50 g Garlic, peeled and sliced
• 200 g Shallot, peeled and sliced
• 50 g Ginger, peeled and sliced
• 1 tbsp Black pepper corn crushed
• 2 ½ tbsp Coriander powder
• 1 1/2 tbsp Cumin powder
• 1 tbsp Fennel powder
• 10 pod Cardamom pods
• 5 pcs Cloves
• 1 stick Cinnamon
• 4 pcs Star anise
• 150 ml Low cholesterol oil
• Seasoning to taste

Condiments:

• Celery
• Carrot
• Rice Cake-optional
• Fried shallots
• Spring Onions/Green Onions

Method:

1. Preheat the oven, place all cut oxtail pieces on a tray and then roast them for 1 hour until golden brown.
2. Then in a thick bottomed pot, add the oil to heat and then sauté the garlic, shallots and ginger until fragrant.
3. Add the cardamom pod, the cinnamon stick, the star anise and the cloves stirring continuously.
4. In a small bowl, place the coriander powder, fennel powder, cumin powder and crushes black pepper and mix with a little of the water.
5. Add the smooth and well mixed mixture into the cooking pot and sauté all together for a few minutes until again, fragrant.
6. Then add to the mixture the roasted oxtail pieces and the rest of the water and bring to a simmer.
7. Simmer slowly for at least an hour or until the meat starts to fall off the bones.
8. During the simmering process, as with all meat stocks, impurities will rise out of the liquid and settle in the middle of the pot like a brown scum. This needs to be skimmed off with a ladle to ensure that it does not simmer back inside the dish making it cloudy.
9. Add the carrots and celery pieces at the end as their cooking time is only about 10-15 minutes.

Notes:

It has to be mentioned that the soup from this finished dish, if cared for properly, can be dark and wonderfully shiny like a mirror if all the impurities that rise to the top during simmering are skimmed off. As when cooking any dish, tender loving care has to be taken to ensure that the presentation of the dish is the best it can be. The soup will only become cloudy if the dish is left alone and all the impurities are ignored. If you would like to have a slightly thicker and darker soup, a simple dusting of flour and a couple of teaspoons of tomato paste can be added and mixed with the oxtail pieces before adding them to the soup for simmering. The flour and paste should be added right at the end and cooked with the oxtails for the last 5 minutes of their cooking process. Chef Kasdi has said that he likes to add rice cubes to make his soup a hearty dish; however potatoes can also be used and should be added at the same time as the carrots and celery. The dish can be served on its own or with a side dish of fried or steamed rice. Chef Kasdi has topped off his soup with fresh shallots and spring onions to intensify the final taste even more.

Happy cooking!

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