This website uses affiliate links that may earn commission from purchases. This is at no additional cost to you.
Oxtail Soup is always talked about by Doug’s family and friends in Hawai’i. The best version I’ve had was from Uncle Eddie who provided the recent banana bread recipe. He traditionally makes it for the New Year family celebration and that’s where I fell in love with the dish.
Uncle Eddie was nice enough to share the recipe with me and, to my surprise, it is extremely simple. The key ingredient is the salt.
Salt
Maybe it is just me but Hawaii has a reputation for having interesting salt and salt mixes. Maybe it has to do something with being surrounded by a huge body of salt water.
Whatever the reason, the Hawaiian salt mixes make for great soup seasonings. Uncle Eddie uses Auntie Sheila’s homemade Pa’akai Delight seasoning. It is a secret blend of seasonings that she’s been making for years and, unfortunately, not for sale.
I use Island Seasonings Salt for my soups so much that I once ran out of my Costco sized portion. If I didn’t have Auntie Sheila’s special salt mix, I would use this to season the oxtail soup. Hawaiian salt blends like this have seasonings such as onion powder, garlic powder and other things. If you don’t have a Hawaiian salt blend, you can doctor one up for yourself however you’d like.
I find that Hawaiian salts are saltier than regular kosher or table salt so make sure to taste it and salt appropriately.
Process
For full list of ingredients and detailed steps, check out the bottom of this page.
Brown the oxtail in your soup pot after salting all sides.
Fill the pot with water until all the oxtail is submerged. Add ginger and simmer for 2-3 hours.
Once this is done, serve immediately or refrigerate overnight. Skim off the fat if you’d like.
30 minutes before serving, bring a small/medium pot to boil. Add salt and peanuts. Simmer the peanuts for 30 minutes until softened; not crunch and not mushy.
If refrigerated, reheat the soup, add the peanuts and mustard greens.
Serve on its own or with rice. Garnish with green onions and lots of cilantro (if you enjoy cilantro).
VIDEO: My siblings came over to hang out so I made Oxtail Soup to feed everyone.
Recipe
Oxtail Soup
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Begin by salting the oxtail with the Hawaiian seasoning. Rub it in well and be careful not to oversalt. I recommend using the same amount you would use to dry rub steaks.
- In the large soup or stock pot you've selected, brown all sides of the oxtails. My oxtails were fatty enough where I didn't need additional oil but feel free to use some to brown the meat.
- While browning, chop the green parts of green onions into 2 inch pieces and slice your ginger into thin slices.
- Add the green onions and ginger to the pot and fill with water so that everything is submerged. Bring this to a boil and then simmer while covered for 2 to 3 hours.
- When done simmering, taste the soup and adjust flavors as needed. Here I added 1 tablespoon of fish sauce. You can at this point serve the dish (with garnishes) or put in the fridge and reheat the following day.
- 30 minutes before serving. In a medium pot, bring 4 cups of water to boil. Add in raw, unshelled peanuts and 2 tablespoons of salt. Boil for 30 to 45 minutes until peanuts are not crunch but not mushy.
- Add the boiled peanuts (optional) and mustard greens to the hot soup. Let the greens wilt in the hot soup and then serve!
- Serve on it own or with a small serving of rice. Garnish with cilantro and chopped green onions
Notes
- garlic powder
- onion powder
- brown sugar
- paprika
- chicken bouillon