Oxtail Soup

Name: Oxtail Soup
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: China
Ingredients: 550 g (1¼ lb) chicken drumsticks and thighs; 30 ml (2 tbsp) Shaoxing wine or medium dry sherry; salt to taste; 30 ml (2 tbsp) broadbean paste; 10 ml (2 tsp) Sichuan peppercorns; 25 g (1 oz) ginger, peeled, cut into sections and bruised; 2.5 litres (4½ pints/10 cups) water; 1 oxtail, about 1.2 kilos (2½ lb), cut into sections; 15 ml (1 tbsp) thick or dark soy sauce; 15 ml (1 tbsp) sesame oil; 25 g (1 oz) dried Chinese wolfberries, rinsed (optional)

Preparation info

Serves
6

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Classic Food of China

By Yan-Kit So

Published 1992

About

A Sophisticated Sichuanese rustic dish which has all the ingredients that fit the bill. The chicken meat serves to enhance the flavour of the soup, while the dipping sauce for the oxtail, which is peppery and stimulating, provides the characteristic touch of the regional cuisine.

Ingredients

1 oxtail, about 1.2 kilos (2½ lb), cut into sections
550

Asia
China
Soup

Method

Submerge the pieces of oxtail in a large pot of cold water for 20 minutes. The water will gradually turn pink as some of the blood is drained out of the oxtail. Drain, discarding the water.
Put the oxtail in a heavy-bottomed saucepan or flameproof casserole. Add the chicken and the water and bring to the boil over a high heat. When the scum foams to the surface