Braised oxtails is one of Judy’s specialties, which she likes to whip out on special occasions. It’s an incredibly simple, flavorful dish, made with some really strong, pungent spices like star anise, bay leaf, and cloves.
One particular ingredient is somewhat unusual. Rock sugar is what gives these Braised Oxtails their slightly sweet flavor and amazing glazed look. You can find it in Chinese grocery stores in large chunks, or in these brick-like blocks:
The recipe calls for a tablespoon, which is about a 1-inch square. You can also substitute regular sugar, but rock sugar is great if you can find it.
If you can’t find oxtails, you can also try this recipe with short ribs, which would be AWESOME. This is totally recommended.
Ingredients
- 3 lbs oxtail, cut into 2 to 3 inch thick pieces
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 2 half-inch thick slices of fresh ginger
- 6 cloves garlic
- ½ cup Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing wine)
- 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 3-4 pieces of star anise
- 6 cloves
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon of rock sugar (you can substitute regular sugar)
- 1 1/2 cups of water
- Salt, to taste
Clean the oxtails and pat them dry.
Heat oil in a large pot or skillet and brown them on all sides. Then add ginger and garlic, and cook for about 2 minutes.
Now it’s time to add cooking wine, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, the anise, cloves, bay leaves, rock sugar, water, and salt (careful with the salt, as the soy sauce is already quite salty).
Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 1-1/2 – 2 hours, until the meat is tender and most of the liquid has evaporated. As it’s simmering, stir occasionally and add additional water if necessary to avoid sticking.
You’ll be left with a thick coating of sauce.
And it is oh, so good.
- 3 lbs oxtail, cut into 2 to 3 inch thick pieces
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 2 half-inch thick slices of fresh ginger
- 6 cloves garlic
- ½ cup Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing wine)
- 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 3-4 pieces of star anise
- 6 cloves
- 3 bay leaves
- 1 tablespoon of rock sugar (you can substitute regular sugar)
- 1½ cups of water
- Salt, to taste
- Clean the oxtails and pat them dry.
- Heat oil in a large skillet and brown them on all sides. Then add ginger and garlic, and cook for about 2 minutes.
- Now it’s time to add cooking wine, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, the anise, cloves, bay leaves, rock sugar, water, and salt (careful with the salt, as the soy sauce is already quite salty).
- Bring to a boil and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 1-1/2 – 2 hours, until the meat is tender and most of the liquid has evaporated. As it's simmering, stir occasionally and add additional water if necessary to avoid sticking. Serve.
SB says
Hello Judy,
In the 4 step instructions when exactly are you adding the meat(oxtails)?
Thanks,
SB
Judy says
Hi SB, you don’t remove the oxtails after browning. The meat will keep on browning after adding the ginger and garlic. :-)
Alanna says
Was excellent. I doubled all the aromatics and liquid. Add dry tangerine peel and finished it off with chunks of diakon at the end.
Judy says
Excellent, Alanna!
Jade says
Would I be able to substitute ground cloves? I don’t have the whole ones :/
Judy says
Hi Jade, yes, you can. For this recipe, use about 1/4 teaspoon of ground clove powder.
Marissa says
hi judy!
If I use three pounds of beef short ribs would it still be the same amount of water I will be braising the short ribs? Also, what about the cooking time….not sure when I can consider the dish to be done.
Thanks again for your yummy recipe ideas!
Marissa
Judy says
Hi Marissa, sorry for the late reply! You can start with the same amount of water and adjust accordingly as the cooking goes on. Add more (hot) water when you see fit, and turn up the heat to thicken the sauce towards the end if there is too much liquid. As for the cooking time, I usually stick a fork into the meat, and if it comes out easily, then it’s done. Hope this helps :-)
Marissa lee says
HI Judy!
Love your recipes! For the braised ox tail dish, can I add potatoes? If I can,how many potatoes would you recommend and if I need to adjust to the quantity of sauce?
Thx!
Marissa
Marissa lee says
Sorry Judy…can I also add beef tendon? Not sure how much to add and if the sauce would need to be adjusted.
Thank you again!
Judy says
Hi Marissa, I love beef tendon. It would be a good addition to this dish. The total weight of the oxtails and tendon combined should equal 3 lbs, and you can still follow the recipe as is.
Judy says
Hi Marissa, I wouldn’t add potato. It will dilute the taste and won’t be as ideal. :-)
Robin says
Can this recipe be done a day before and can I use a crock pot? Thanks.
Judy says
Hi Robin, sorry to have missed your comment. Yes, you can make this a day ahead and use a crockpot. Since I don’t cook with a crock pot, though, it’s hard to give an exact cooking time.
Tony says
Hi,
This looks absolutely delicious. Would you happen to know what the cook-time would be if I were to use a pressure cooker instead?
Judy says
Hi Tony, I don’t have much experience cooking with a pressure cooker, even though I have a very nice one given to us by an Indian friend. I am just too afraid of it.
Summer says
Too much liquid in the recipe for the pressure cooker. It became soup.
Jackie Loh says
Hi Judy,
I know this is your specialty dish – will I be doing any injustice to it if I used lamb shanks instead of oxtails?
Judy says
Hi Jackie, lamb shank would definitely work.
Jackie Loh says
Thanks! Will let you know how it goes. Very excited to try out so many recipes from you & your family :-)
Jackie Loh says
Finally cooked the lamb shanks on Saturday night following your recipe above – it was delicious!! All my friends loves it!!!
Judy says
Yeahhh! SO HAPPY!
Lillian says
My favorite dish as well. I also put in carrots and onions to add more flavor to this. Well, I will try your recipe to see how it measures up.
Judy says
Hi, Lillian, how are things? We’re so happy to be back home. Definitely try this recipe, you’ll find braise oxtails without carrots and onions offer much more concentrated flavor. This is my absolute favorite oxtail recipe.