Clay Pot Oxtail
A classic Lu (Shandong) cuisine sand pot oxtail dish. The oxtail is tender and falls apart easily, the broth is rich and mellow, and the dish is packed with nutrients.
Ingredients
Oxtail (with skin, hair removed, large tail-bone removed and cut into segments)
2 kg
Cleaned hen (blanched to remove blood foam)
0.5
Cooked ham (sliced)
100 g
Dried scallops (tendons removed, washed)
50 g
Rendered lard
100 g
Cooking wine
100 g
MSG
10 g
Salt
14 g
Scallion segments
100 g
Ginger chunks
50 g
Sichuan peppercorns
5 g
Chicken broth
3 kg
Instructions
1
Ingredient Preparation
First, singe off the fine hairs from the oxtail with flame, then scrub clean. Remove the large tail-bone and cut into segments. Blanch the hen in boiling water, remove, and wash off the blood foam. Cut the ham into slices. Remove the tendons from the dried scallops and wash clean.
2
Stir-frying the Oxtail
Heat the rendered lard in an iron wok, add the Sichuan peppercorns with 50 g scallions and 24 g ginger, and stir-fry until fragrant. Add the oxtail segments and stir-fry over high heat to expel the blood water. Pour in 50 g cooking wine and continue to stir-fry until the oxtail is just cooked through. Remove the oxtail, wash clean, and drain well.
3
Clay Pot Simmering
Pour the chicken broth into a clay pot, add 50 g scallions, 25 g lightly smashed ginger chunks, cooking wine, and salt. At the same time, place the oxtail segments, dried scallops, ham slices, and hen pieces into the clay pot. Simmer over low heat for 4 hours, adding more broth once during cooking if needed.
4
Finishing the Dish
When the oxtail becomes tender, pick out the scallions, ginger, and hen pieces (reserve for other uses), add the MSG, and skim off the foam. Serve.
