Instant Pot Hawaiian Oxtail Soup
By America's Test KitchenPublished on July 20, 2022
Time
2¼ hours
Yield
Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
Before You Begin
Look for oxtails that are approximately 2 inches thick; thaw if frozen. If certain ingredients are difficult to find in a store or online, we suggest these substitutes, but the soup's flavor will be less nuanced as a result: You can substitute dry-roasted peanuts for the raw peanuts, 4 Medjool dates for the jujubes, 1½ tablespoons dried orange peel or 3 strips fresh orange zest for the chen pi, and 1 pound stemmed American mustard greens for the gai choy. Serve this soup in large, deep soup bowls. For a complete Hawaiian-style meal, serve with 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 Instant Pot.
- Lock lid into place and close pressure-release valve. Select high pressure-cook function and cook for 60 minutes. Turn off Instant Pot 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 separate large bowl or container, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible; discard solids. Let broth settle for 5 minutes, then, using wide, shallow spoon or ladle, skim excess fat from surface. (Broth, oxtails, peanuts, and mushrooms can be refrigerated separately for up to 4 days. Reheat oxtails 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 Instant Pot. Stir in gai choy and cook, using residual heat, until wilted, about 3 minutes. Season with soy sauce to taste.
- Thinly slice mushrooms, if desired. Divide oxtails, peanuts, and mushrooms among individual bowls, then ladle hot broth and greens over top. Sprinkle with cilantro and scallions. Serve, passing grated fresh ginger and extra soy sauce separately.
Time
2¼ hoursYield
Serves 4 to 6Ingredients
Ingredients
Ingredients
Why This Recipe Works
According to Leo Pascua, an avid home cook from O'ahu, people have strong opinions about their favorite one. He said, “Any self-respecting diner in Hawai'i will offer their version of oxtail soup. You defend the soup of your favorite diner and then go eat those of another diner to make sure you're right.” Lynette Lo Tom, author of A Chinese Kitchen: Traditional Recipes with an Island Twist, explained that several distinct versions of oxtail soup in Hawai'i can be attributed to immigrant populations who brought their cooking traditions with them. The Chinese version of Hawaiian oxtail soup has a distinct profile—fresh ginger, star anise, and chen pi (aged dried mandarin orange peel)—and often contains peanuts, shiitakes, and jujubes. We set out to create an Instant Pot recipe that would deliver on traditional flavor, with the time-saving benefit of cooking under pressure. We started by testing how to extract the most balanced, beefy flavor from the oxtails. We found that, as long as we trimmed excess fat, tasters preferred tossing the oxtails into the pot without prior blanching or browning. To simplify straining the broth after cooking, we bundled the aromatics in cheesecloth. After just 1 hour under pressure (compared with the 4 hours required on the stovetop), we allowed the pot to release naturally for 30 minutes; this gradual drop in temperature and pressure gave the oxtail collagen more time to convert to silky gelatin. After transferring the solids to a platter, we strained the liquid through a fine-mesh strainer and skimmed excess fat from the surface to yield a clean, full-bodied broth. We returned the broth to the pot and added gai choy, and after 3 minutes of simmering, the peppery Chinese mustard green was crisp-tender and the broth steaming hot—ready to be ladled into deep bowls piled high with oxtails, tender shiitakes, and peanuts, and then topped with a tangle of cilantro and scallions. Finally, the dish would not have been complete without the added grated ginger and a splash of soy sauce.
Before You Begin
Look for oxtails that are approximately 2 inches thick; thaw if frozen. If certain ingredients are difficult to find in a store or online, we suggest these substitutes, but the soup's flavor will be less nuanced as a result: You can substitute dry-roasted peanuts for the raw peanuts, 4 Medjool dates for the jujubes, 1½ tablespoons dried orange peel or 3 strips fresh orange zest for the chen pi, and 1 pound stemmed American mustard greens for the gai choy. Serve this soup in large, deep soup bowls. For a complete Hawaiian-style meal, serve with 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 Instant Pot.
- Lock lid into place and close pressure-release valve. Select high pressure-cook function and cook for 60 minutes. Turn off Instant Pot 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 separate large bowl or container, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible; discard solids. Let broth settle for 5 minutes, then, using wide, shallow spoon or ladle, skim excess fat from surface. (Broth, oxtails, peanuts, and mushrooms can be refrigerated separately for up to 4 days. Reheat oxtails 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 Instant Pot. Stir in gai choy and cook, using residual heat, until wilted, about 3 minutes. Season with soy sauce to taste.
- Thinly slice mushrooms, if desired. Divide oxtails, peanuts, and mushrooms among individual bowls, then ladle hot broth and greens over top. Sprinkle with cilantro and scallions. Serve, passing grated fresh ginger and extra soy sauce separately.
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