5.0 from 27 votes
Chinese Oxtail Soup
A rich lip-sticking broth, brimming over with flavour, colour and life-giving goodness. A rich, hearty and warming soup with light, rice noodles and meltingly tender oxtail. A marvellous restorative soup any time of the year.
Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
2 hrs 10 mins
Total Time
2 hrs 40 mins
Servings: 4
Calories: 594 kcal
Course:
Main Course
Cuisine:
Chinese
Ingredients
For the broth
- 2 lb oxtails
- 1 onion (medium sized, halved)
- 5 cm ginger (peeled & sliced)
- 4 garlic cloves (peeled)
- 2 star anise
- ½ tsp black peppercorns
- 1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
Other ingredients
- noodles (rice, egg or flour noodles - you choose)
- 3 spring onions finely sliced
Instructions
To make the broth
- Preheat oven to 200ºC/395ºF
- Place the oxtails on a roasting tray and roast for 30 minutes, turning once after 15 minutes.
Cup of Yum
For Instant Pot
- Place the oxtails into the Instant Pot along with all the other broth ingredients. Pour over 8 cups of water. Attach the lid, set to high pressure cook for 2 hours.
- After 2 hours, release the pressure and carefully remove the meat from the pan to cool.
For stove top
- Place the oxtails into a large casserole pan with all the other broth ingredients. Pour over 8 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to very low, so that the liquid is barely simmering. Simmer very gently, covered, for 6 hours.
- Carefully remove the meat from the pan and leave it to cool.
Finishing the soup
- Using a fine mesh sieve, strain the soup and discard the solids. If you have a lot of fat on top, you can skim this off with a spoon or use a gravy separator (these are marvellous). Keep the broth warm on a low heat.
- Once the meat has cooled enough to handle, pick apart the meat from the fat, bone and cartilage. Keep the meat, discard everything else. Set aside.
- Cook your noodles to the packet instructions. Once cooked, drain and place a small mound in the centre of an Asian soup bowl or deep soup bowl then pop on top a little meat.
- Add 4-5 ladles of piping hot broth per person and then sprinkle over some spring onion. That's it! Enjoy!
Notes
- Serving
- Substitutions
- Storage
- Serve hot garnished with the spring onion scattered on top.
- Add Asian greens to the soup.e.g. Bok Choy or Chinese Celery
- Add turnip and carrot. Either cook them separately, or in the drained broth until soft.
- You can use flour or egg noodles instead of rice noodles.
- If you can't get oxtails, use beef bones.
- You can make a pork version of the soup by using pork bones or ribs.
- Fridge: The broth and meat will stay fresh in the fridge for about a week in airtight containers.
- Freezer: Freeze the broth and meat (together or separately) in a container and it'll stay good for 3+ months.
- The noodles are best eaten fresh and will not be great in texture if left in the soup. I would recommend only refrigerating or freezing the broth and meat and not the noodles. Cook noodles fresh when you want to eat the soup.
Nutrition Information
Calories
594kcal
(30%)
Carbohydrates
7g
(2%)
Protein
72g
(144%)
Fat
30g
(46%)
Saturated Fat
12g
(60%)
Cholesterol
249mg
(83%)
Sodium
1528mg
(64%)
Potassium
129mg
(4%)
Fiber
2g
(8%)
Sugar
2g
(4%)
Vitamin A
103IU
(2%)
Vitamin C
5mg
(6%)
Calcium
78mg
(8%)
Iron
10mg
(56%)
Nutrition Facts
Serving: 4Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 594
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 594kcal | 30% |
| Carbohydrates | 7g | 2% |
| Protein | 72g | 144% |
| Fat | 30g | 46% |
| Saturated Fat | 12g | 60% |
| Cholesterol | 249mg | 83% |
| Sodium | 1528mg | 64% |
| Potassium | 129mg | 3% |
| Fiber | 2g | 8% |
| Sugar | 2g | 4% |
| Vitamin A | 103IU | 2% |
| Vitamin C | 5mg | 6% |
| Calcium | 78mg | 8% |
| Iron | 10mg | 56% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.