Dapur Home cooking from Indonesia

Sop buntutOxtail soup

Clear broth, whole spices, and oxtail cooked long enough that the meat gives way at the touch of a spoon. The trick is a first boil you throw away.

Illustration of oxtail soup with carrot, potato and scallion in a clear broth

Method

  1. Cover the oxtail with cold water, bring it to a hard boil for 5 minutes, then drain and rinse the pieces. Throwing this water away is what keeps the finished broth clear.
  2. Return the oxtail to the clean pot with the 2.5 l of water. Bring to a bare simmer.
  3. Fry the shallots and garlic in the oil until golden, then add them to the pot with the ginger, cinnamon, cloves, star anise, nutmeg and peppercorns.
  4. Simmer gently, lid ajar, for 2 hours. Skim whatever rises. Do not let it boil, or the broth clouds and the meat tightens.
  5. Test the oxtail. The meat should pull from the bone with no resistance. Give it another 30 minutes if it does not.
  6. Salt the broth, then add the potatoes. Simmer 10 minutes.
  7. Add the carrots and simmer 10 minutes more, until both are tender but still whole.
  8. Add the tomato wedges for the last 2 minutes, just to warm through.
  9. Ladle into bowls, each with its share of oxtail. Top with scallions and fried shallots, and serve rice, lime and sambal alongside.

Notes

  • Chill the broth overnight and the fat sets on top in a sheet you can lift off. The soup is cleaner for it and the oxtail is better the next day.
  • Whole spices only. Ground spice turns the broth muddy and cannot be fished out.
  • Ask the butcher for the thicker joints from the top of the tail. The thin end is mostly bone.
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