Sop Buntut [ Oxtail Soup ]

Oxtail soup is made with beef tails. The use of the word "ox" in this context is a legacy of nomenclature no specialized stock of beef animals are used. It is believed by some that oxtail soup was invented in Spitalfields in London in the seventeenth century by French Huguenot and Flemish immigrants, from the tails of animals. Different versions of oxtail soup exist: Korean, Chinese, a fried/barbecued oxtail combined with soup variation which is a popular dish in Indonesia where it is called as sop buntut. An ethnic dish of the American South which traces its lineage back to the pre-revolutionary war era, and a thick, rich, gravy-like soup popular in the United Kingdom since the 18th century. Creole oxtail soup is made from a tomato base with oxtails, potatoes, green beans, corn, mirepoix, garlic, and herbs and spices.

Ingredients

• 1 kilogram oxtail
• 2½ liter water
• 2 tablespoon oil
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 5 cloves
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 250 gram carrot, peeled and cut into 1 inch rounds
• 250 gram potato, peeled and cut into 8 wedges per potato
• 1 tablespoon salt
• ½ tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground white pepper

Grind the following into spice paste

• 10 shallot
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1 inch ginger
• ½ onion

Garnish and accompaniments

• 1 tomato, cut into small slices
• 1 scallion, thinly sliced
• 2 Chinese celery, thinly sliced
• 1 lime, cut into wedges
• deep fried shallot flakes

Chili sauce (mixed the following)

• 4 tablespoon sweet soy sauce
• 4 Thai chilies, seeded and thinly sliced

How To Make

1. Boil oxtails and water in a pot. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes or until oxtails are cooked and tender. Remove oxtails from the stock and set aside. Strain the stock to get a clear broth. Return the broth and oxtails back to the pot.
2. In a frying pan, heat oil and sauté spice paste, cinnamon stick, cloves, and nutmeg until fragrant. About 5 minutes. Add this to the pot with broth and oxtails.
3. Bring the oxtail and broth back to a boil. Add carrot and potato and season with salt, sugar, and ground white pepper. Reduce heat and cook until carrot and potato are cooked and tender, but still quite firm. About 20 minutes. Adjust salt and sugar as needed.
4. Turn off heat, serve the soup with slices of tomato, scallion, and Chinese celery. Sprinkle the soup with some deep fried shallot flakes. The soup is best eaten when still piping hot with a bowl of steamed white rice accompanied with the chili sauce and a squeeze of lime juice.

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