← Nouns Cooking · Indonesian & Filipino

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg Oxtail, cut into rounds
• 2.5 l Water
• 1 onion, halved (for the broth)
• 1 tsp Salt
• 2 tbsp Vegetable oil
• 5 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 Onion, chopped
• 2 tbsp Annatto (atsuete) seeds, soaked in 125 ml warm water, rubbed and strained
• 150 g smooth unsweetened peanut butter
• 50 g roasted peanuts, finely ground (optional)
• 4 tbsp rice flour (or glutinous rice flour)
• 3 long Asian aubergines, cut into 5 cm pieces
• 200 g snake beans (sitaw) or green beans, cut into 5 cm lengths
• 3 pechay or bok choy, ends trimmed
• 6 tbsp sautéed bagoong alamang (shrimp paste)

Method

1. Put the oxtail, halved onion, salt and water in a large pot, bring to the boil and skim off the scum. Cover and simmer over low heat for 2½ hours, until the meat is very tender and pulls from the bone. Lift out the oxtail and keep about 1.5 l of the broth.
2. Toast the rice flour in a dry pan over medium-low heat for 3–4 min, stirring constantly, until pale tan and nutty-smelling. Set aside.
3. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and blanch the vegetables separately: beans for 2 min, aubergine for 2 min and pechay for 1 minute. Drain and keep warm.
4. In a large pot, heat the oil over medium heat and sauté the garlic and chopped onion for 3 min until soft. Add the oxtail and annatto water and stir for 2 min until everything turns orange.
5. Add about 1.2 l of the broth, the peanut butter and the ground peanuts (if using) and stir until smooth. Simmer for 10 min.
6. Whisk the toasted rice flour with a ladle of the sauce, stir it back in and simmer for 5 min until the sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon. Season lightly with salt; the bagoong will add more.
7. Serve the oxtail and sauce topped with the vegetables, with plenty of rice and a little bagoong to dab on each bite.

Tips

• A pressure cooker cuts the oxtail time to about 45 minutes. Tripe, beef shin or pork hock are traditional alternatives.
• Contains peanuts. Bagoong is fermented shrimp: keep it on the side for anyone with a shellfish allergy.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Panlasang Pinoy Foxy Folksy