Braised Ox Tail

Ingredients:
Oxtail x 5 pc
Tomato x 3pc - remove skins and pups as shown below, then cut into medium chunks
Onion x 2 pc - cut into medium chunks
Carrot x 2pc - cut into medium chunks
Garlic - presssed by 1/2 cup
Shallots - coarsely cut x 1/2 cup
Ginger - 2 slices

Sauce:
1/2 cup Chinese wine (shiu hing wine)
1/2 cup light soy sauce
1/2 cup worchester sauce (lee & perins)
1/2 cup ketchup
2tbsp dark soy sauce
Rock sugar

How to do this:

1. Wash and dry the ox tail and marinate with light soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, chinese wine, white pepper and corn flour - use hands to mix them up and coat the oxtail evenly.

2. Remove skins and pups of the tomatoes in this way:
     (a) gently cut a cross on the tomatoes
   (b) boil water in a pan which can cover the tomatoes
   (c) once water is boiled, swtich off fire, then drop the tomatoes into the hot water for 1 minute
   (d) take out tomato and drop them to a bowl of ice water
   (e) the skin will be peeled off easily
   (f) after removing the skins, cut them up and remove the seeds inside,
   (g) retain all the tomato juice on your chopping board with the board tomatoes.

3. Use a big pot to start the sauce - add all chopped tomatoes with the juice, the cut carrots, then the SAUCE above and start boiling it.

4. Heat up another frying pan and add corn oil, then stir fried the garlic, onion, shallots and ginger until fragrant.

5. Once the above is fragrant, removed them to a plate lined with kitchen towel - to remove some of the oil. Then add all these to the sauce pot.

6.  In the same frying pan, brown the oxtail on all sides - do it in 2 batches as the frying pan might not be able to hold all oxtail on one go.

7. Remove the browned oxtail to a plate lined with kitchen towel.

8. Once all oxtail are browned and oil gently removed through absorption on kitchen towel, add all oxtail to the sauce pot.

9. Top up with hot water in the sauce pot until all oxtail are covered under the braising liquid., then add rock sugar.

10. Once the sauce pot with the oxtail and the rest of the ingredients are boiled, turn down to medium heat and braised the oxtail for 2 to 2.5 hrs. Check every 30 min to ensure nothing sticked to the bottom of the pot. Check taste from time to time.

11. Once braising is finished (oxtail is tender enough for your tasting), remove all oxtail to a new pot.

12. For the braising sauce remaining, use Japanese Oil Paper (for cooking) to remove the oil on top of the braising sauce. You will need to use quite a number of these oil paper to completely removed the oil retained in the sauce.

13. Once the above is finished and you can see sauce is not oily, then see if the sauce is thick enough for your liking. If not, then mix 2 tbsp of cornflour with cold water until all cornflour are dissolved, then add to the braising sauce and boil the sauce until it is thickened and adjust seasonings to your likings.

14. When you are ready to serve, place the oxtail nicely on the serving plate/bowl, top up with the braising sauce.

Best served with noodles or rice!

** you should have quite a lot of braising sauce left behind. Dont throw it away!! once cool, pour them in ziplock bags and put to freezer. You can use this sauce for a lot of other things.