High Fat Low Carb Oxtail Stew

There is something medieval about eating Oxtail. I guess it's the huge chunk of meat you have to sink your teeth into and you probably don't look too dignified using your fingers to clean off every juicy morsel off the bone.

Let's put it this way, it's not a first date food. But if your date or friends are comfortable with you, eating this with them puts you on #teamreal

This dish is made to taste like sweet barbequed meat with subtle astringent flavours. You can easily make a good impression with this dish as it has very little requirement for knife skills or cooking experience. Better yet, you won't be soaked in sweat when you're done plating.

First marinate a few slices of beef in a little soy sauce, mushroom sauce, onion powder, paprika, some salt, Szechuan and black peppercorn. Set aside and let the meat drink in the taste for a few hours.

To start, julienne or make little matchstick cuts from a carrot and fry in hot oil. After a few tosses (less than 10 seconds), remove them from the pot. Set aside for a while. Prepare another green veggie like broccolini but DO NOT blanch first.

In the same pot, add onion and start to caramelize them. Do not add extra oil because the oxtail is very fatty.

When the onions start to brown, add jalapenos. Deseed them if you wish to reduce the spiciness.

It's very important to brown your meat.

Now, add in oxtail that has been marinated in salt and black pepper. Brown them evenly in the pot. This should take about 30 seconds.

Add Shaoxing wine followed by a little bit of soy sauce.

A little Mushroom sauce won't hurt. It helps with the overall caramelized, sweet flavour.

Now this is progressing rather quickly...because it is that easy!

Fill the pot with water and add red dates, lotus root, dried Chinese mushrooms and scallion.

Put the pressure cooker lid on and set the temperature to high, turning the knob to maximum compression for 10 minutes.
Reduce the flame to medium heat, maximum compression for another 40 minutes
Reduce the flame to medium low in medium compression for the last 10 minutes

While that is going on, fry some beef slices in high heat but work quickly. As they are about 60% browned, turn the heat off and keep tossing them so that they brown evenly. It helps to lift the pan from the stove to avoid overcooking as you toss. This should take about 20 seconds to cook.

As you are waiting for the Oxtail to cook, blanch your broccolini and se aside with the carrots.

Now serve this carnivorous meal. High Fat Low Carb, probably not that sinful if you don't have ice-cream later 👅

Recipe serves two

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 60 minutes

Stew Ingredients:

Oxtail - 500gm (marinate in salt and grounded black peppercorn)

Broccolini - one bunch

Carrot - 1

Jalapenos - 3

Scallion - 1-2 stalks

Red dates - 4

Lotus Root - (1/2 an arm's length)

Dried Chinese mushroom - 3

Onion - 1

Shaoxing wine - 2 tbsp

Soy sauce - 1 tsp

Mushroom sauce - 2 tbsp

Salt - 2 tsp

Beef Slices Ingredients:

Beef slices - 6 - 8 slices

Marinate in soy sauce, mushroom sauce, onion powder, paprika, some salt, Szechuan and black peppercorn.

Cooking Steps:

First marinate your beef slices and set aside (above 1 hour)
Fry carrots and set aside for garnishing later
Now caramelize onion until it turns brown and then add jalapenos. Toss it for a while followed by the oxtail to brown. This should take about 30 seconds
Then add Shaoxing wine, soy sauce and mushroom sauce (vegetarian oyster sauce). After a few stirs, add water until it just about covers the meat and toss in all the other ingredients like scallion, red dates, lotus root and dried Chinese mushroom. Let this cook for an hour.

Put the pressure cooker lid on and set the temperature to high, turning the knob to maximum compression for 10 minutes.
Reduce the flame to medium heat, maximum compression for another 40 minutes
Reduce the flame to medium low in medium compression for the last 10 minutes