How long does it take to make Korean oxtail soup? Not long if the oxtail is already tender. I cooked the oxtail overnight in the slow cooker. Well, 95% cooked anyway. The radish and chili sauce were added the following day.

Aside from the obvious convenience of using a slow cooker, precooking the oxtail and allowing it to cool has another benefit. Oxtail is fatty and a lot of the fat liquefies into the broth during cooking. If that worries you, here’s the thing.

By chilling the broth in the fridge, the fat floats to the surface and hardens. You can easily remove that layer of fat before finishing the soup.

If the fat is not an issue with you, ditch the chilling part. Without removing the oxtail from the slow cooker, add the radish, scallions and chili sauce during the last two to three hours.

Korean oxtail soup (sokkoritang)

Connie Veneracion

Tender oxtail meat with gelatinous tendon and radish in a rich bone broth.

Oxtail is available with or without the skin. You may use either.

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 9

Chilling time 1

Total Time 1 9 10

Course Soup

Cuisine Korean

Servings 3 people

Equipment

Slow cooker

Ingredients

For the broth

1 kilogram beef oxtail cut through the bone into serving size pieces (have the butcher do this for you)
6 cloves garlic
3 stalks scallions tied into a knot
1 tablespoon salt (you may need more)
6 whole black peppercorns

To complete the soup

1 large radish (daikon) peeled and cut into half-inch rings
½ cup thinly sliced scallions

For the chili sauce

1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons chili flakes
1 tablespoon gochujang (Korean chili paste)
1 tablespoon sesame seed oil

Instructions

Rinse the oxtail well. Place in a pot. Cover with water. Boil for 10 minutes, drain, discard the water and rinse the oxtail again to remove impurities.
Place the cleaned oxtail in the slow cooker. Add the garlic, scallions, salt and peppercorns. Set the cooker to low and cook the oxtail for eight hours.
Scoop out the oxtail and transfer to a container.
Strain the bone broth into another container.
Chill the oxtail and broth in the fridge overnight or up to a day.
Scrape off the layer of fat that forms on the surface of the broth and discard.
Pour the broth into a pot. Add the oxtail and radish. Simmer until the oxtail meat is tender and the radish is soft.
While the oxtail and radish simmer, make the chili sauce by stirring together all the ingredients.
When the oxtail and radish are done, add the scallions.
Stir in the prepared chili sauce, a tablespoon at a time, until you get the flavor balance that you like.
Ladle the soup into bowls, serve with the remaining chili sauce on the side, and enjoy!