10 servings... Prep time: 20 minutes... Cook time: 6 hours

Ingredients

  • 3-4 lb ox tail
  • 4 quarts chicken broth
  • 1 bunch scallion or green onion (~4 adult-length shoots), sliced on diagonal
  • 12-15 pieces rehydrated shitake mushrooms, cut in halves
  • 5 star anise
  • 1 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 tablespoon Hawaiian rock salt
  • 1 teaspoon shoyu
  • Optional: 1/2 cup shelled, skinned, raw peanuts

Necessities

  • 5 qt. stock pot with lid
  • Cutting board and knife
  • Fork and pair of tongs

Instructions

  1. Add oxtail to stock pot in a single layer. Add water to cover raw oxtail by 1" and cover pot, leaving lid slightly ajar. Bring water to a boil on medium heat, then completely drain water and discard excess fat that rises to the top. When bringing water to a boil or while simmering, leave lid slightly ajar to prevent liquid from overflowing.
  2. Return pot with oxtails to stove. Fill pot with chicken broth until oxtail is covered by 2". Add star anise, ginger, rock salt, and shoyu.  Bring water to a boil and reduce heat to a light simmer for 2 hours.
  3. Add shitake mushrooms. Let simmer for 1.5 hours.
  4. Add peanuts (optional). Let simmer for another 1.5 hours (simmer for 1.5 more hours regardless of adding peanuts).
  5. Meat should tenderly fall off the bone. Use a fork and pair of tongs to gently separate meat from the oxtails. Leave bones in or remove as desired.

Tips: Add extra chicken broth or water as desired because some liquid will be lost through evaporation.  Periodically skim fat off of broth's surface in steps 2 through 4. Alternatively, let soup cool and place in refrigerator to let fat congeal.  Skim off fat after it congeals (typically within ~6 hours), reheat, and serve.

 

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