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    Written On: June 19, 2018 by Daniel Oh

    Korean Oxtail Soup - Kkori Gomtang

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    Korean Oxtail Soup (referred to as 'Kkori Gomtang' in Korean).

    If I had to choose my last meal, this would be it.

    Korean Oxtail Soup - Kkori Gomtang

    Kkori Gomtang is a wonderfully light-tasting soup that’s made by slow-simmering oxtails for many hours. The meat on the tail pieces turn ultra-tender, while the broth is infused with the natural flavors of the bone and cartilage.

    This hearty soup is always served with a bowl of fresh hot rice on the side. Diners can scoop-in some fresh rice into the soup and mix the two together before eating.

    Makes for one deeply satisfying meal!

    Before we start cooking, let’s take a quick deep-dive into oxtails:

    What exactly is oxtail?

    Korean Oxtail Meat - Kkori Gomtang

    The term oxtail is misleading. It's not the tail from an oxen (it used to be in the old days). But now, the culinary term refers to the tail of steers.

    Back then, the tail was seen as “scrap meat”. Nobody knew how to cook with them, so they were sold for cheap.

    But nowadays, oxtail has become a premium cut– it goes for $4-6 a pound!

    Many people have figured out that oxtail is really tasty … but there’s only one tail per animal.

    But what does oxtail taste like?

    Oxtail is a gelatin-rich meat - it contains a large amount of collagen.

    But a relatively small amount of meat.

    That’s why its best to slowly-braise or simmer this meat. You want to extract the deep flavor from the bones and cartilages into a sauce or broth.

    After slow-cooking, the meat itself turns extra tender - with a silkier texture than most cuts.

    Every Korean Thanksgiving, my family gathers at my grandma's place in the countryside of Jeollabukdo.


    My grandma loves to cook a welcome pot of Korean Oxtail Soup. As soon as you open the kitchen doors, you walk into an aroma of bone broth.

    It reminds me that I’m here in the countryside to rest. Puts me at ease ☺️

    My grandma (who is sitting next to me at the moment) insists that I include a note that she typically cooks this soup for half-a-day on low heat - not just the 5 hours as shown in the video!

    With every extra hour, the broth turns milkier (almost sticky) and deeper in flavor.

    Over the years, I’ve been asking my grandma how she gets the broth to be so tasty and good. She always says...pfff! It's the easiest soup in the world.

    All you need is time.

    Never understood what she really meant. But after recording her recipe, I realized that it is indeed just that.

    Hours and hours of slow-cooking.

    If you've never tried oxtail, this is a perfect recipe to try it out.

    Bon Appetit ya'll 😋

    Korean Oxtail Soup - Kkori Gomtang

    Korean Oxtail Soup - Kkori Gomtang

    Oxtail that has been slow-simmered in a light and refreshing broth. Say hello to your new hangover soup. 
    4.42 from 31 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Easy
    Servings: 3 people

    Ingredients

    • Oxtail meat - 1kg ~2 lbs
    • Cow trotter - ¼ kg ~½ lb
    • Water - 25 cups 6 liters

    Stew Seasoning

    • Green onion - few stalks
    • Salt - few shakes
    • Black pepper - few shakes

    Instructions

    Clean Meat & Pre-Boil

    • Wash the meat pieces under running water. Then fill a large mixing bowl with water. Let the meat pieces soak in the water for 30 minutes. 
    • After 30 minutes, drain the residual water. And rinse-off the meat again.
    • Then place each meat piece in a large pot. Fill the pot with just enough water to cover the meat pieces. Bring the pot up to a boil on a high heat.
    • Once it starts boiling, drain out the pot. And give the boiled meat pieces one final wash under running water. 
    • Place each cleaned, boiled meat piece back into the pot. Now fill the pot up with 25 cups of water. (If you're pot is small, reference notes.)
    • Then bring the pot back to boil on a high heat. Once it starts to boil, use a soup ladle and scrape off the residual scum on the surface. 
    • Then reduce your heat to LOW (Important!). Let it gently simmer for at least 5 hours. 
    • Note: Every 2 hours, open the lid and skim-off the residual oil.
    • After ~5 hours, you will end up with a rich and milky broth. And the meat will be pull-apart soft.

    Seasoning Individual Soup - DONT FORGET TO DO THIS!

    • Dice green onion into small pieces.
    • Mix 1 Tablespoon of salt and 5-6 cracks of black pepper on a small plate.
    • Take out bowl. Scoop some broth in the bowl - alongside a few oxtail pieces. 
    • IMPORTANT: It's time to season your bowl. Grab a spoon and scoop-up a little bit of salt & pepper from the plate. Don't add too much at once - then taste and add more if needed.
    • Finish with by sprinkling the green onions over your bowl.
    • Optional, but highly recommended: Mix in few scoops of white rice into your bowl. Bon Appetit! 

    Notes

    • If your pot is small, start with 4L of water. After 2-3 hours of boiling, add-in 2L of water. 
    • Make sure to season your bowl with salt & pepper before eating. 
    • Scoop in a few spoonful of cooked white rice into your stew - makes it very hearty!
    • See video below for more details
    Tried this recipe?Tag us at @efutureneighbor with your dish!

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    « Korean Mushroom Hot Pot
    Summer Kimchi - Mom's personal recipe. »

    About Daniel Oh

    Hi Neighbors - Daniel here! I'm not a professional chef, but an avid home cook. If you're new to Korean food, come try our simple homestyle recipes. Master the essentials and add Korean cooking to your repertoire!

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Seth says

      December 10, 2021 at 1:27 pm

      5 stars
      Made it as soon as it got cold this fall. Perfect recipe with kimchi. Supporting from Las Vegas.

      Reply
    2. BC says

      August 07, 2021 at 1:01 pm

      Think it would work in a slow cooker? Are they any suggestions on modifications to the recipe if using a slow cooker? Thanks!

      Reply
    3. Preston says

      December 14, 2020 at 6:46 am

      5 stars
      Make this all the time now! Such a wonderful recipe. Perfect for the cold weather. Thank you!!!

      Reply
    4. Charles says

      November 05, 2020 at 10:30 am

      1 star
      I followed the recipe meticulously, but used 2.75 pounds of ox tail and 20 cups of water assuming that I could always add more water if needed, and simmered it for 7 hours. The broth was virtually flavorless. I was extremely disappointed, because I was really looking forward to this recipe.

      Reply
      • Aztec says

        December 05, 2020 at 12:13 pm

        I find an easy shortcut is to just add a few beef bullion cubes. It can otherwise be fairly flavorless.

        Reply
        • Tairone says

          March 31, 2021 at 2:46 am

          5 stars
          You didn’t add salt bruh, adding bullion cubes will mess the flavor up dawg

          Reply
      • Sunny says

        December 06, 2020 at 7:47 am

        Did you add the spoonful of salt to flavor the soup? After a ladle of soup broth into a bowl, a scoop of salt is added

        Reply
      • Dan-yul says

        December 07, 2020 at 1:33 pm

        Ah, the "mother pot" is typically left unseasoned - just raw broth. Scoop the broth and a few pieces of oxtail into individual bowls, then season-to-taste with salt & black pepper (as shown in the video). This is how we eat this soup in Korea.

        Reply
        • Calamity JaneJane says

          October 22, 2021 at 6:24 pm

          Best with kimchi!!
          Thx for the recipe, I had no idea it was so simple!

          Reply
      • Tairone says

        March 31, 2021 at 2:45 am

        5 stars
        You didn’t add salt bruh

        Reply
      • Preston says

        April 19, 2021 at 4:44 am

        5 stars
        You do know you are supposed to season with salt and pepper after you transfer to your bowl... ‍♂️ You didn’t even follow the instructions meticulously so maybe follow it next time. I make this all the time and it’s perfect just need to pay attention

        Reply
      • Calamity JaneJane says

        October 22, 2021 at 6:21 pm

        Had you never tried this either at a Korean resto or a Korean person's home? It doesn't taste like much, the "flavour" is extremely subtle, as described in the blurb preceding the recipe.
        If you boil chicken for hours on end, the broth tastes like nothing too.
        What did you expect when you're boiling bones in a cauldron full of water?

        Reply
    5. amy says

      August 16, 2020 at 10:18 pm

      5 stars
      definitely gonna make this for my brother and i. I searched all ingredients and its only like 20 dollars this would last a while for us, thanks for amazing recipe

      Reply

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