Pictorial: Ox Tail and Tomato in Clay Pot

[hzrt8w]

Ox Tail and Tomato in Clay Pot (番茄牛尾煲)

This Chinese dish is made by stealing some techniques from French and Vietnamese cookings. The taste of the soft ox tail after 2 hours of simmering in tomato sauce with lemon grass and star anise/clove flavor is just wonderful.

Picture of the finished dish:

Serving Suggestion: 2 to 3

Preparations:

Main ingredients: (From bottom left, clockwise) Ox tail, about 2 lb. 2 large carrots. 2 stalks of celery. 2 lemon grasses. 1 small brown onion. 4 small roma tomatoes. Garlic, use 6 cloves. (Not shown: 3 shallots.)

To marinate the ox tail: Use 1/2 tsp of salt, 1 tsp of ground black pepper, 1 tsp of light soy sauce. Mix well in a mixing bowl.

Trim the ends of the lemon grasses. Use only about 5 inches in the middle. Cut into 2 halves. Use a food mallet to bruise the lemon grass pieces. Also, prepare 4 star anises and about 2 tsp of cloves.

Peel and trim the end of the carrots. Cut at about 1/2 inch thickness. Trim the ends of the celery. Cut into thin slices.

Cut roma tomatoes into wedges.

(Not shown: Trim both ends of an brown onion, wedge. Trim ends of 3 shallots, finely chop. Peel and mince 6 cloves of garlic.)

Cooking Instructions:

(Note: My clay pot is of a small size and would not hold all the ingredients in this dish. I use a regular pot to cook the ox tail first. If your clay pot is big enough, you can do the cooking in the clay pot.)

Use a pot, set stove at high, add ox tail pieces. Sear both sides. About 3 to 4 minutes per side. Before removing ox tail pieces from pot, dash in 2 tsp of ShaoHsing cooking wine and 1 tsp of light soy sauce.

Add wedged onions, finely chopped shallots, minced garlic. Mix well. Sautee for about 3 minutes. Add 1/4 tsp of salt (or to taste), 2 tsp of chili bean sauce, dash in 2 tsp of ShaoHsing wine (or you may use 1/2 cup of red wine).

Add sliced carrots, sliced celery. Mix and continue to sautee for 5 minutes.

Return the ox tail pieces, add roma tomato slices, 1 can (about 6 oz) of tomato sauce, bruised lemon grasses, 4 star anises, 2 tsp of clove, 2 tsp of dark soy sauce, 1/2 cup of chicken broth, and 1/2 to 3/4 cup of water.

Bring the mixture to a boil. Make sure all ox tail pieces are immersed in the broth. Then change the stove setting to simmer. Simmer the mixture with lid on for about 2 hours.

This is how it looks after 2 hours. Add some corn starch slurry (suggest: 2 to 3 tsp of corn starch mixed with 3 tsp of water) to thicken the sauce.

For presentation, I transferred the mixture to a preheated clay pot.

First, preheat the clay pot at high stove setting for 5 minutes.

Transfer the ox tail mixture to the clay pot before serving.

Edited January 1, 2006 by hzrt8w (log)

[annachan]

LOOKS GREAT!

It's actually quite similar to my oxtail soup, except the chili paste, lemon grass and star anise are replaced by cabbage.

[Dejah]

Annachan:

You and I must have the same oxtail recipe - a German version with savoy cabbage. Haven't made it for years, but I did buy some oxtails before Xmas. Will have to try out Ah Leung's recipe now.

[annachan]

Annachan:

You and I must have the same oxtail recipe - a German version with savoy cabbage. Haven't made it for years, but I did buy some oxtails before Xmas. Will have to try out Ah Leung's recipe now.

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Sounds like it....I just use regular cabbage though....much easier to find

[OnigiriFB]

Once again that looks terrific! Can't wait to try this one. So far I've done your Ma-Po Tofu and Chicken Chow Mein. Both are keepers. I have a feeling this one will be as well. Looks to be a nice hardy meal perfect for Iowa winters.

[aznsailorboi]

YUMMMEHHHHHHHHHH!!! that's the first thing I'm gonna try with my new clay pot that I just bought this weekend, it's big enough to fit all of those. I still have to soak it and cook jook in it to seal the micro-cracks in the pot.

[Anna N]

As promised on the Lemon Chicken thread - a photo of my oxtails with tomato dish. When I make it again I will be sure to coral the whole spices as I don't deal well with them in the finished dish! But this was a lovely combination of flavours even though I had to cheat on some of the ingredients! I will be making a trip to our Asian grocer next Sunday and will be sure to stock up.

I am hoping for some guidance on doing a Chinese meal for 4 adults. I know I have limited experience and limited kitchen space so I will have to do a variety of cooking methods - that is, I can't possibly make 4 stir-fried dishes. I would like a shrimp dish, a chicken dish (Lemon-chicken), a beef dish (the oxtails would work fine as they can be re-heated) and a noodle dish. Any advice?

Many thanks.

[hzrt8w]

I am hoping for some guidance on doing a Chinese meal for 4 adults.  I know I have limited experience and limited kitchen space so I will have to do a variety of cooking methods - that is, I can't possibly make 4 stir-fried dishes.  I would like a shrimp dish, a chicken dish (Lemon-chicken), a beef dish (the oxtails would work fine as they can be re-heated) and a noodle dish.  Any advice? 

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Your Oxtail pot looks lovely as well, Anna!

Your question is just the same one that millions of Chinese house wives (plus house husbands to be PC) have to face with everyday: how to prepare enough varieties for a mid/big size family for dinner in a small kitchen? The best advice that I can give you is try to prepare a combination that would not get in the way of each other. For example: if you plan to prepare 4 to 6 dishes you don't want to have all 4 to 6 stir-fries because you have only one wok/pan and you cannot get them ready at the same time. You may want to consider one or two simmered/braised dishes (prepare ahead of time), one or two steamed dishes, one "ready to eat" dish (e.g. store-bought roast pork, BBQ pork, chicken, etc.) or cold-cut dish and one stir-fried dish. Or use the oven to bake something. Or perhaps have a pot of soup. This way, you can bring out all 4 to 6 dishes at the same time to the dinner table.

[Dim Sim]

That looks wonderful, always like oxtail, I should give it a go, actually it is a little bit like what i will be having for dinner tonight, I've made some Vietnamese beef and carrot stew, I will be having it with crusty baguette. hzrt8w I just love your pictorials, done your congee with pork and egg, and I will be making it again soon, keep it coming

[Anna N]

Your Oxtail pot looks lovely as well, Anna!

. . .

The best advice that I can give you is try to prepare a combination that would not get in the way of each other.  . . .

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Thank you!

I will go through your dishes and see if I can come up with a menu that will work without straining resources! However it all comes together, I know it can only be an improvement on the last meal we had at local Chinese place. This will be my revenge! We used to have a lovely Chinese restaurant where we celebrated many, many family occasions but it closed due to high lease costs and we have yet to find another that is as good.

[AzianBrewer]

This looks look my in-law's Vietnamese beef stew. I had this with cous-cous the other night and it was awesome.

[Hest88]

Ahhhhh, this looks as good as my mom's version!!!!

[jokhm]

Just on the topic of how to prepare a multitude of chinese-style dishes in a small (or even medium size) kitchen.. I always think about these things and marvel at how a real home-cooked chinese meal is so well thought-out. Besides the diversifying to clay pots, which are beyond fantastic, the use of dry-pot(ganguo, ???is quite prevalent. The idea for those is that you prepare a basic stir fry using some chilies, meats, fats and other items like bamboo that can use a bit more cooking, and then you leave it aside. When it comes time to eat you place it in a small shallow iron/metal bowl with a flame underneath and toss in all the fresh herb-like ingredients, like additional garlic, green onions, coriander etc. Guaranteed this isn't news to most here, but its one whole other category of how to move away from the high-traffic wok during cooking time.

[Anna N]

Just on the topic of how to prepare a multitude of chinese-style dishes in a small (or even medium size) kitchen..  I always think about these things and marvel at how a real home-cooked chinese meal is so well thought-out. Besides the diversifying to clay pots, which are beyond fantastic, the use of dry-pot(ganguo, ???is quite prevalent. The idea for those is that you prepare a basic stir fry using some chilies, meats, fats and other items like bamboo that can use a bit more cooking, and then you leave it aside. When it comes time to eat you place it in a small shallow iron/metal bowl with a flame underneath and toss in all the fresh herb-like ingredients, like additional garlic, green onions, coriander etc.  Guaranteed this isn't news to most here, but its one whole other category of how to move away from the high-traffic wok during cooking time.

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It is certainly news to me and very interesting news at that. I have not heard of dry-pot cooking before and will do a bit of delving into it to see what more I can learn. Thank you.

I did give the clay pots a careful scrutiny when I was in the Asian store but I just KNOW that I would crack one the first time I used it! I have read much about caring for them and they are certainly not expensive but there's just something that keeps me from taking the leap! Maybe I should just buy two right from the start!

[jokhm]

Yeah, have a look for the dry-pot stuff. It is a fairly normal thing all over here, sometimes our table will have two fires going; though that's rare. But great potential to semi-slow-cook certain parts of the dish while having last minute freshness added in. Usually by the end of the meal the taste of the dish has changed quite a bit and developed nicely.

Also, concerning the claypots, I wouldn't give them too much thought. They are cheap in china ($2 max for the big ones), so i never worry about them cracking, but actually after using one several times a week I think it took at least 6 months for one of them to crack; and this is with no attention towards any real care given. If you find a good deal buy a pair of them. I actually frequently use two for a meal... many uses, even if just to keep one dish warm for a longer time.

[KateC]

Another beautiful creation, Ah Leung! And another fantastic pictorial, as usual.

I love oxtail. I can't wait to give it a try.

Thank you