Multicooker Hawaiian Oxtail Soup
By Nicole KonstantinakosPublished on January 18, 2022
Time
2¼ hours
Yield
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
Before You Begin
Look for oxtails that are approximately 2 inches thick; thaw them if they're frozen. For more information on jujubes, see this article. For the most nuanced flavor, we highly recommend that you avoid substitutions, but if necessary, you can substitute dry-roasted peanuts for the raw peanuts, four Medjool dates for the jujubes, 1½ tablespoons of dried orange peel or three strips of fresh orange zest for the chen pi, and 1 pound of stemmed American mustard greens for the gai choy. This dish can also be cooked in a pressure cooker. Place the cooker on medium heat when instructed to use the “highest sauté function.” Serve this soup in large, deep soup bowls. For a complete Hawaiian-style meal, serve each diner two scoops of white rice.
Instructions
- Bundle sliced ginger, star anise, and chen pi in single layer of cheesecloth and secure with kitchen twine. Add cheesecloth bundle, oxtails, water, peanuts, jujubes, mushrooms, soy sauce, and salt to multicooker.
- Lock lid into place and close pressure-release valve. Select high pressure-cook function and cook for 1 hour. Turn off multicooker and let pressure release naturally for 30 minutes. Quick-release any remaining pressure, then carefully remove lid, allowing steam to escape away from you.
- Discard cheesecloth bundle. Using slotted spoon, transfer oxtails, peanuts, and mushrooms to large bowl; tent with aluminum foil; and let rest while finishing soup. Strain broth through fine-mesh strainer into large bowl or container, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible; discard solids. Let broth settle for 5 minutes. Using wide, shallow spoon or ladle, skim excess fat from surface. (Broth can be refrigerated overnight before defatting to allow for easier skimming. Reheat oxtails, peanuts, and mushrooms in simmering broth before adding gai choy in step 4.)
- Return defatted broth to now-empty pot. Using highest sauté function, bring broth to simmer, then turn off multicooker. Stir in gai choy and cook, using residual heat, until wilted, about 3 minutes. Season with extra soy sauce to taste.
- Slice mushrooms thin, if desired. Divide oxtails, peanuts, and mushrooms among bowls, then ladle hot broth and gai choy over oxtails. Sprinkle each bowl with cilantro and scallions. Serve, passing grated ginger and extra soy sauce separately.
Time
2¼ hoursYield
Serves 4 to 6Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
In Hawaii, Chinese-influenced oxtail soup is a local favorite dating from the mid-to late 19th century, when scores of Chinese immigrants arrived on Hawaii's shores as laborers for its sugar and pineapple plantations. In the best bowls, star anise, the aged Mandarin orange peel known as chen pi, and ginger perfume the broth, which brims with pungent gai choy and meaty knobs of its signature ingredient. Oxtail is a collagen-rich cut that typically takes 3 to 4 hours of simmering to turn tender. We dramatically cut down on the cooking time by turning to our multicooker. An hour under high pressure, followed by 30 minutes for the pressure to release naturally, was all it took, giving the oxtails' collagen time to convert to silky gelatin while allowing the meat to still cling gently to the bones. We added the aromatics and other classic ingredients—peanuts, dried jujubes, and dried shiitakes—at the same time as the oxtails. We strained the broth, reheated it on the highest sauté function, and then wilted the gai choy in the stock off the heat. We portioned the oxtails, peanuts, and mushrooms into individual bowls and then ladled the steaming broth and gai choy over top.
Want more? Read the whole storyBefore You Begin
Look for oxtails that are approximately 2 inches thick; thaw them if they're frozen. For more information on jujubes, see this article. For the most nuanced flavor, we highly recommend that you avoid substitutions, but if necessary, you can substitute dry-roasted peanuts for the raw peanuts, four Medjool dates for the jujubes, 1½ tablespoons of dried orange peel or three strips of fresh orange zest for the chen pi, and 1 pound of stemmed American mustard greens for the gai choy. This dish can also be cooked in a pressure cooker. Place the cooker on medium heat when instructed to use the “highest sauté function.” Serve this soup in large, deep soup bowls. For a complete Hawaiian-style meal, serve each diner two scoops of white rice.
Instructions
- Bundle sliced ginger, star anise, and chen pi in single layer of cheesecloth and secure with kitchen twine. Add cheesecloth bundle, oxtails, water, peanuts, jujubes, mushrooms, soy sauce, and salt to multicooker.
- Lock lid into place and close pressure-release valve. Select high pressure-cook function and cook for 1 hour. Turn off multicooker and let pressure release naturally for 30 minutes. Quick-release any remaining pressure, then carefully remove lid, allowing steam to escape away from you.
- Discard cheesecloth bundle. Using slotted spoon, transfer oxtails, peanuts, and mushrooms to large bowl; tent with aluminum foil; and let rest while finishing soup. Strain broth through fine-mesh strainer into large bowl or container, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible; discard solids. Let broth settle for 5 minutes. Using wide, shallow spoon or ladle, skim excess fat from surface. (Broth can be refrigerated overnight before defatting to allow for easier skimming. Reheat oxtails, peanuts, and mushrooms in simmering broth before adding gai choy in step 4.)
- Return defatted broth to now-empty pot. Using highest sauté function, bring broth to simmer, then turn off multicooker. Stir in gai choy and cook, using residual heat, until wilted, about 3 minutes. Season with extra soy sauce to taste.
- Slice mushrooms thin, if desired. Divide oxtails, peanuts, and mushrooms among bowls, then ladle hot broth and gai choy over oxtails. Sprinkle each bowl with cilantro and scallions. Serve, passing grated ginger and extra soy sauce separately.
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