Oxtail is a popular cut in Chinese cooking because it becomes incredibly tender after a long braise, with plenty of collagen that melts into the broth and gives it a rich, silky texture. My mom cooks oxtail often during the cooler months, and I grew up eating her lighter oxtail soup. This braised version is much richer, with tender oxtail coated in a savory, glossy soy sauce-based sauce that’s perfect over steamed rice.
For this recipe, I borrowed the two-stage cooking method my mom uses for her red braised lamb. The oxtail is first pressure cooked with ginger and green onion until tender, creating a rich, gelatinous broth at the same time. Then it’s transferred to a wok and braised with soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, ginger, garlic, star anise, and cinnamon until the broth reduces to a deeply flavorful sauce.
I love this method because you get the rich flavor and meltingly tender texture of a long-cooked braise without spending three hours at the stove. It takes a little more work than cooking everything in the pressure cooker, but finishing the oxtail in the wok allows the sauce to reduce and the seasonings to concentrate. It’s exactly the kind of hearty, comforting dinner I crave when the weather starts to cool down.
Ingredients
I love making this Chinese Braised Oxtail recipe because it uses mostly ingredients I already have in my pantry. The only thing I need to pick up at the market is the oxtail. Here is what I use:
Oxtail: I start with oxtail cut into short pieces, and I don’t trim it too aggressively. I remove any very large pieces of fat, but leave a layer around the meat to protect it during the long cooking process.
Aromatics: Ginger, green onion, and Shaoxing wine flavor the oxtail during pressure cooking. For the braising stage, I add more ginger and green onion along with smashed garlic, star anise, and cinnamon to create a warm, aromatic sauce.
Sauce seasonings: Light soy sauce adds savoriness, while dark soy sauce gives the braise its deep color, and a little sugar rounds everything out. I keep salt on the side and add it only at the end if the sauce needs it.
How to Make
1. Trim the fat: Trim off any very large lumps of excess fat if needed. Avoid trimming so much that the bare meat is exposed, because the layer of fat protects the meat from drying out during the long cook.
2. Blanch the oxtail: Place the oxtail in a large pot and add enough cold water to cover. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once the water simmers, drain and rinse the oxtail thoroughly to remove any brown bits.
3. Pressure cook: Arrange the oxtail in the Instant Pot in an even layer if possible. Add 4 slices of ginger, 2 green onions, 2 tablespoons of the Shaoxing wine, and the water. Seal the lid and cook on High Pressure for 30 minutes, then let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes before opening the valve to release the rest.
4. Strain the broth: Transfer the oxtail to a plate. Strain the cooking liquid and reserve all of it. Skim off and discard as much fat from the surface as possible.
5. Cook the aromatics: Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet over medium heat. Add the remaining 4 slices ginger and 3 green onions along with the garlic, star anise, and cinnamon. Stir and cook until very fragrant, about 1 minute.
6. Combine the seasonings: Add the oxtail and toss to coat with the oil and aromatics. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine, the light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and sugar. Pour in 2 cups of the reserved cooking liquid so it covers most of the oxtail. It is fine if some pieces are partly exposed.
7. Braise the oxtail: Bring to a boil, cover, then drop to medium or medium-low heat to keep a vigorous simmer. Cover and braise for 20 minutes.
8. Reduce the sauce: Uncover and continue to cook over medium to medium-high heat until the sauce reduces by about half and goes glossy, about 10 minutes. The sauce will still be thin at this point, but it thickens and coats the oxtail as it cools slightly. Taste a piece with some sauce and adjust with salt if needed.
9. Serve: Kill the heat. Garnish with sliced green onion if you like and serve hot with plenty of the braising liquid.
Key Cooking Notes
Blanch before you pressure cook: I always blanch the oxtail first because the pressure-cooking liquid becomes my sauce. Starting with a cleaner broth means less foam and fewer impurities end up in the finished braise.
Skim the fat off the strained broth: Oxtail gives up a lot of fat, so after I strain the broth I skim the surface hard. This keeps my final sauce rich without going greasy.
Use only 2 cups of the broth for the braise: I do not pour all the broth back in, because too much liquid takes longer to reduce and dilutes the seasonings. Two cups plus the soy sauces is enough to mostly cover the oxtail in a wok.
Keep a vigorous simmer, not a gentle one: During the wok stage I keep the simmer active rather than low. A harder simmer keeps tenderizing and seasoning the meat while it reduces the broth down to a glossy sauce.
Stop while the sauce is still fluid: I pull the sauce off the heat while it is glossy but still fairly loose, not reduced to a sticky glaze. It thickens noticeably as it cools, so a sauce that looks perfect in the wok will be too thick on the plate.
Save the leftover broth: I never toss the extra broth from the pressure cooker. I season it with a pinch of salt to drink on its own, or use it as a rich base for a simple soup later in the week.
How I like to Serve This
Oxtail this rich wants a plain backdrop, so I spoon it and its sauce straight over a bowl of steamed rice and let the glossy braising liquid soak into the grains. It is a substantial main that feeds 4 to 6 depending on what else is on the table, and on a cold night my husband and I are happy with just the oxtail, rice, and one green vegetable between us.
For a fuller dinner I set the oxtail in the middle of the table and add a cold starter like an easy Chinese cucumber salad to cut the richness, plus a quick vegetable like bok choy with oyster sauce or garlicky greens. The next day, I like to use the reserved oxtail broth to make braised daikon radish, replacing the chicken broth in the original recipe. The rich beef broth pairs beautifully with daikon, which soaks up all that savory flavor while keeping the dish light. It makes an easy yet hearty meal and is one of my favorite ways to use up the leftover broth.
Frequently Ask Questions
Why do I use both an Instant Pot and a wok?
Oxtail needs a very long braise to break down its connective tissue on the stove, and the pressure cooker gets the meat most of the way to tender in about 30 minutes while making a rich broth. I finish it in the wok so the soy sauce, wine, and spices can penetrate the meat and the sauce can reduce, which makes it taste like a traditional braise instead of a pressure-cooker dish.
Why does the sauce get glossy without any cornstarch?
The collagen in the oxtail breaks down into gelatin during pressure cooking and enriches the broth. As that liquid reduces in the wok the gelatin concentrates, giving the sauce a silky, glossy body on its own, so there is no need to thicken it with cornstarch.
My sauce still looks thin at the end, did I do something wrong?
Most likely not. The sauce is meant to look fairly fluid when the dish finishes cooking, because the concentrated gelatin sets up as it cools and coats the oxtail on the plate. If you reduce it to a thick glaze in the wok it will be too sticky once it cools slightly.
How long do leftovers keep in the fridge and freezer?
The oxtail keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days, and it reheats well in a covered pot with a splash of water since the gelatin loosens back up with heat. It also freezes well for up to 3 months, so I portion it with some sauce and thaw it in the fridge before reheating.
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Chinese Braised Oxtail (红烧牛尾)
Ingredients
- 3 lb oxtail , cut into 2” (5 cm) pieces (*Footnote 1)
- 8 large slices ginger , divided
- 5 green onions , halved lengthwise and divided
- 4 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
- 4 cups water
- 1 tablespoon peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
- 3 cloves garlic , smashed
- 2 star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- Salt to taste (Optional)
Instructions
- Trim the oxtail: Oxtail can sometimes be very fatty. Trim off any very large pieces of excess fat if needed. However, avoid trimming so much that the lean meat is exposed, because the layer of fat helps protect the meat from drying out during cooking.
- Parboil: Place the oxtail in a large pot and add enough cold water to cover. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Once the water comes to a simmer, drain and rinse the oxtail thoroughly to remove any brown bits.
- Pressure cook the oxtail: Arrange the oxtail in the Instant Pot in an even layer, if possible. Add 4 slices of ginger, 2 green onions, 2 tablespoons of the Shaoxing wine, and 4 cups of water. Seal the lid and cook on High Pressure for 30 minutes. Allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes, then carefully open the valve to release the remaining pressure.
- Skim the broth: Transfer the oxtail to a plate. Strain the cooking liquid and reserve all of it. Skim off and discard as much fat from the surface as possible.
- Saute the aromatics: Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet over medium heat. Add the remaining 4 slices ginger and 3 green onions, along with the garlic, star anise, and cinnamon. Stir and cook until very fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add braising seasonings: Add the oxtail and toss to coat evenly with the oil and aromatics. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and sugar. Pour in 2 cups of the reserved cooking liquid (*Footnote 2). The liquid should cover most of the oxtail. It’s OK if some pieces are partially exposed.
- Braise in the wok: Bring to a boil, then turn to medium or medium-low heat to maintain a vigorous simmer. Cover and braise for 20 minutes. Uncover, then continue to braise over medium to medium-high heat until the sauce has reduced by about half and turned glossy, about 10 minutes. The sauce will still be quite thin at this point, but it will thicken and coat the oxtail nicely as it cools slightly. Taste an oxtail with some of the sauce and adjust the seasoning with salt, if needed.
- Finish up and serve: Turn off the heat. Garnish with sliced green onion, if desired, and serve hot with the braising liquid.
Notes
- You can usually find oxtail at a butcher or some grocery stores. If purchasing a whole oxtail, you can ask the butcher to cut it into sections. The oxtails are usually cut if it’s sold packaged and you don’t need to cut it further.
- I prefer to use only 2 cups of the broth because too much liquid takes longer to reduce and dilutes the seasonings. When using a wok, 2 cups of broth plus the liquid seasonings should be enough to mostly cover the oxtail. If using a pot or Dutch oven, you may need to add more broth to reach a similar level. In this case, the sauce may take longer to reduce. If the oxtail reaches your desired tenderness before the sauce has reduced enough, remove the oxtail and continue cooking the sauce on its own.
Nutrition
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