Malaysian Oxtail Soup

Ingredients

3 Tbsp grapeseed oil
600 gm oxtail (cleaned, fats cut off, chopped into bite-size pieces)
3 medium size potatoes (peeled, whole)
2 small carrots (peeled, cut into chunks)
2 stalks of celery (cut into chunks)

Spices to be grounded into paste
3 cloves garlic
3 shallots
2 stalks lemongrass
1 cm ginger
1 tsp powdered coriander
1 tsp powdered cumin
1 tsp powdered fennel

Whole spices
2 cardamoms
1 small cinnamon stick
3 cloves
1 star anise
1 tsp freshly cracked black peppercorns

3 Tbsp tomato paste
1.5 litre filtered hot water
sea salt
a small bunch of coriander leaves (chopped roughly)

Method

1. Heat a pan, drizzle with oil and brown the oxtail. Drain and set aside.
2. Saute the spice paste, whole spices and spice powder until fragrant and add in tomato paste. Add a few Tbsp of water to stir the paste.
3. Transfer the paste into a soup pot, add oxtail and filtered water and bring to boil.
4. Turn down the heat and simmer for 1 hour then add in the vegetables and continue to simmer for another hour or until oxtail is tender.
5. Add sea salt to taste and garnish with coriander leaves.
6. Serve hot.

Note : For a stronger spice soup, add 2 more cardamoms, 5 more cloves and an additional star anise to the soup. Soup can also be garnished with crispy fried shallots and chopped chili padi.