Oxtail Stew

(click to enlarge)	Oxtail Stew China, Szechuan / Hunan
(click to enlarge)	Serves: Effort: Sched: DoAhead:	4 w/rice ** 3-3/4 hrs Yes		A hearty, easy to make stew suitable as a main dish with rice, side dish or soup course (just adjust liquid). Vegetables can be varied in quantity and selection.

3
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4
1/2
1/4
1/2
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2
8
1
6

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Ox Tails (1)
-- Broth
Water
Soy Sauce
Rice Wine (2)
Ginger root
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Potatoes (3)
Carrots
Chili (4)
Celery

Make: - (3-3/4 hrs - 35 min work)

Wash OXTAILS as needed.
Slice GINGER less than 1/8 inch thick. Put Oxtails and all Broth Items in a coverable pot. Bring to a boil and simmer until meat pulls very easily from the bones - generally about 2-1/2 hours. Add water as required to keep the oxtails barely covered.
Remove Oxtails from the liquid and pull all the meat from the bones. Discard bones.
De-fat Broth (easiest to do with your gravy separator). Wash the pot and return Broth and Meat to the pot.
Cut POTATOES and CARROTS into bite size chunks, and CHILI smaller (if used). Add to the pot with enough water to just cover. Bring to a boil and simmer until Potatoes are just done.
Dice Celery small and mix into the stew. Continue to simmer another 10 minutes and serve hot.

NOTES:

Ox Tails:
In Southern California these are almost always sold cut into individual joints. In some regions they may be sawed up and you will need to wash away any bone chips. Ox tails make a stew with much more body than plain beef does.
Rice Wine: Use a good drinkable Rice Wine, not that horrid "cooking wine". If you don't have it, use a dry Sherry. Sake is made of rice but not considered a good substitute, it's beer, not wine. For details see our Chinese Rice Wine page.
Potatoes:
White Rose or similar work well in recipes of this sort. Avoid Klondike Gold type potatoes - they turn to mush if cooked a little more than the minimum. For details see our Potatoes page.
Chili:
This wasn't mentioned in the pattern recipe, but here in Southern California, and also I expect in Sichuan and Hunan, a soup or stew without some Chili just seems wrong. I would use a Red Fresno, or a green Serrano, depending on how hot I want. Just chop it coarsly and add with the Carrot. For details see our Thai Chilis page.
U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch