My Mom made this at home one night and I immediately fell in love with it. I love stews to begin with because they are so warm and hearty. Added to that is my love for ox tail; ensuring I get all the meat from those angular bones is just so... fun; a sense of satisfaction comes over me when I know that I've gotten every shred of meat possible from those bones ^_^ Because of the long simmering time, the ox tail meat here is extremely soft - I know the following sounds totally cliché but the meat was really, literally, "fall of the bone" tender. The onions and tomatoes become a "mush" with all their flavour transferred to the stew and the meat. My Mom assured me that this dish was is easy to make. I was weary at first because she says most things are easy to make which is usually the case for HER but not for ME. She then gave me a photocopy of the recipe, taken from one of her many Chinese cook books, and I gotta admit guys, this is a very easy recipe. If I can do it, you can do it =D So go ahead and try this. I guarantee that you will not be disappointed!
Oxtail Stew with Tomato and Red Wine (serves 6)
Ingredients
- 3 cups of beef broth
- 4 bay leaves
- 4 tomatoes (skin removed after slightly boiled)
- 4 onions
- 2 carrots
- 3 tbsp oil
- 3 cloves garlic (mashed)
- 3 shallots (mashed)
- 1 ox tail (parboiled)
- 1 cup red wine
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 star anise
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tsp sugar
Instructions
1. Soak tomatoes in boiling water for about 1 minute. Tomatoes can then be peeled easily by making a criss-cross slit at the bottom. Roghly cut tomatoes and dessed.
2. Cut carrots and onions into chunks.
3. Heat oil in a casserole and fry garlic & shallots till fragrant. add onions and fry until golden.
4. Add tomatoes and carrots. Cook until soft.
5. Take out 1/2 of the onion and tomatoes for later use.
6. Put oxtail in a casserole and fry together till well mixed. Pour in wine and boil over high heat for about 1 minute. Put in light soy sauce, oyster sauce, bay leaves, star anise and beef stock.
7. Bring to a boil and then simmer for about 2 1/2 hours till ox tail is very soft.
8. Add the rest of the tomatoes and the onions and cook for another 10 mintues. Adjust the taste with salt and sugar.
9. Serve hot with rice or spaghetti.
Enjoy!