The Year of the Ox

“We Asians really know how to use every part of the animal,” says Chinese cooking teacher Shirley Fong-Torres of San Francisco.

Starting Friday, oxtails are the part that should get a major workout. That’s the first day of the Chinese lunar year 4695, the Year of the Ox.

Because oxtails require long, slow cooking, they wind up in soups, flavorful braised dishes and stews, making them perfect for chilly winter days that arouse an appetite for restorative foods.

Fong-Torres, who guides tours of Chinatown in addition to conducting Chinese cooking classes, makes an oxtail stew based on her father’s recipe for beef stew. The stew used to be served on Fridays at his restaurant, the Bamboo Hut in Hayward; Fong-Torres enjoyed it atop noodles or even won tons. “It had a wonderful fragrance,” she says. The mix of East-West ingredients includes star anise, ginger and soy sauce, jalapen~os, potatoes and tomatoes.

Oxtail stew with peanuts, on the other hand, is totally Eastern. “[It’s] Cantonese country cooking,” says Jimmy Chiu of Sea Empress Seafood restaurant in Gardena. Chiu makes this dish for his children. “They love the peanuts,” he says. Cooking the nuts in broth gives them the firm-soft texture of beans, and Chiu says that black or red beans can be used instead.

Oxtails in retail markets come not from oxen that are traditionally used as draft animals but from grain-fed cattle raised for meat, says Tim Weiler, director of international sales for Nebraska-based IBP Inc., a leading producer of fresh beef and pork.

Shoppers can find oxtails readily in Asian markets and many supermarkets. They are displayed whole at meat counters or are cut into short lengths and packaged.

Oxtail dishes are popular at Chinese-style coffee shops. At Cafe Mirage in Monterey Park, for instance, oxtails with tomato sauce is the first dish listed on a menu of lunch specials. It’s a Western-style preparation with one Asian touch: a bed of blanched nappa cabbage leaves.

In other parts of the country, oxtails are less common. A consultant to the Beef and Veal Culinary Center based in Chicago couldn’t remember any oxtail recipe development in her 10 years with the center, which is the test kitchen for the National Cattlemen’s Beef Assn., an industrywide organization.

Recipe work there, says Susan Lamb Parenti, concentrates on cuts that are, as she describes them, more “consumer-friendly,” meaning cuts that are widely available and cook quickly. She describes oxtails as a specialty cut. “There is not a high demand,” she says. Parenti even suggests substituting beef shanks for oxtails; which are bony, like oxtails, but meatier.

Good sources for oxtail recipes are Chinese cookbooks. “Beef” (Wei-Chuan Publishing, 1993), one in a series of small books focusing on categories of Chinese dishes, contains a recipe for oxtails in tomato sauce. It’s a little different from the Cafe Mirage version, but the oxtails emerge glossy and appetizing, with a richly flavored sauce blended from soy sauce, catsup and tomatoes.

Another book from the same publisher, “Chinese One Dish Meals” (1995), contains an oxtail soup with a delicate broth to serve over noodles. Ginger, star anise and Sichuan peppercorns add subtle Asian-style flavor.

Creative cooks can devise their own oxtail dishes following some basic guidelines. Because oxtails are not very tender, they’re best when cooked by moist heat methods.

“Beef oxtails are typically cut into sections, from 1 1/2 to 3 inches long, and slowly browned over medium heat,” Parenti says. “Enough liquid is added to cover. The oxtails are cooked, covered, over low heat until the beef is fork-tender, approximately three hours.” Three to 4 pounds of the bony cut will yield 6 to 8 servings of soup.

Because they require long, patient simmering, oxtails fit perfectly with the slow, placid, hard-working nature of the ox, a creature whose efforts have long contributed to the sustenance of mankind.

SHIRLEY FONG-TORRES’ CLASSIC OXTAIL STEW

Fong-Torres says this stew is delicious over steamed rice and is even better the next day. A cookbook author, she runs the Wok Wiz Chinatown Walking Tours & Cooking Center in San Francisco.

2 1/2 pounds oxtails, cut into 2-inch pieces

Water

2 tablespoons oil

1 onion, sliced

4 cloves garlic, lightly mashed

1 small piece ginger root (size of quarter), peeled and mashed

4 jalapen~os, sliced thin, optional

2 whole star anise

2 tablespoons soy sauce, preferably reduced sodium

1/4 cup dry Sherry or rice wine

3 stalks celery, sliced diagonally into 1 1/2-inch pieces

1 teaspoon granulated or brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon white pepper plus extra for final seasoning

5 cups beef broth, preferably reduced sodium

2 large potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes, or daikon

2 large boiling tomatoes, cut into wedges

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/2 bunch green onions, cut into 1-inch pieces

Salt

Fong-Torres says this stew is delicious over steamed rice and is even better the next day. A cookbook author, she runs the Wok Wiz Chinatown Walking Tours & Cooking Center in San Francisco.

Place oxtails in large soup pot. Cover with water and bring to boil. Boil 5 to 6 minutes to eliminate excess fat. Drain and rinse with cold water to remove residue. Pat dry with paper towels.

Heat oil in 14-inch wok or large skillet until smoky. Add oxtails and stir-fry until evenly browned. Add onion, garlic, ginger, jalapen~os, star anise, soy sauce, Sherry, celery, sugar and 1/2 teaspoon white pepper. Cook until onion begins to caramelize.

Heat beef broth in soup pot. Add oxtail mixture and potatoes, cover and cook over medium-low heat 2 to 2 1/2 hours. During last 30 minutes, add tomatoes.

At end of cooking time, skim off as much fat from top of stew as possible. Bring to gentle boil. Blend cornstarch with 1/4 cup cold water, stir into stew and cook, stirring, until sauce thickens. Mix in green onions. Season with salt and white pepper to taste.

4 servings. Each serving:

372 calories; 1433 mg sodium; 101 mg cholesterol; 11 grams fat; 27 grams carbohydrates; 33 grams protein; 1.69 gram fiber.

JIMMY CHIU’S OXTAILS WITH PEANUTS

Peeled raw peanuts can be found in some Asian markets. If using peanuts in the shell, remove the nuts and boil 15 minutes. Drain, place in cold water until cool enough to handle, then peel off the red skins.

2 pounds oxtails

Water

2 tablespoons oil

3 cloves garlic, sliced

4 (1/8-inch thick) slices ginger root, finely chopped

2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine

2 cups chicken broth

1 1/2 cups peeled raw peanuts

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon cornstarch

Cilantro sprigs or leaves

2 green onions, sliced

You can find peeled raw peanuts in some Asian markets. If using peanuts in the shell, remove the nuts and place them in a saucepan. Cover with water and boil 15 minutes. Drain and place in cold water until cool enough to handle, then peel off the red skins.

Place oxtails in large pot. Cover with water. Boil 15 minutes. Drain and rinse well with cold water.

Heat oil in wok. Add garlic and ginger and stir-fry until fragrant. Add wine, chicken broth and 2 cups water. Add peanuts, sugar and salt. Bring to boil. Add oxtails, lower heat and cook gently 1 hour, covered. Broth and water should cover oxtails and peanuts. Add more if needed.

Drain oxtails and peanuts, reserving cooking liquid. Place in Chinese clay pot or other heat-proof casserole for serving. Add half cooking liquid and simmer 5 minutes. Blend cornstarch with 1/4 cup water. Stir into liquid remaining in wok. Bring to boil and cook and stir until slightly thickened. Pour over mixture in clay pot. Garnish with cilantro and green onions.

4 servings. Each serving:

516 calories; 762 mg sodium; 68 mg cholesterol; 37 grams fat; 13 grams carbohydrates; 34 grams protein; 2.74 grams fiber.

OXTAILS AND NOODLES IN BROTH

This recipe is adapted from “Chinese One Dish Meals” (Wei-Chuan Publishing, 1995). Use Chinese-style dried noodles, the type sold in boxes in Chinese markets.

2 pounds oxtails

Water

5 (1/4-inch-thick) slices ginger root

2 green onions plus 2 tablespoons chopped green onion

1 whole star anise

10 Sichuan peppercorns

3 tablespoons Sherry

Salt

1 pound nappa cabbage or any green leafy vegetable

1/2 pound Chinese dry noodles

4 teaspoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon sesame oil

Pepper

Cut oxtails into chunks. Blanch in pot of boiling water. Drain and rinse.

Combine 8 cups water, ginger root, 2 green onions, star anise, Sichuan peppercorns and Sherry in Dutch oven or large saucepan. Add oxtails and bring to boil. Skim foam from surface; cover and simmer over low heat until meat is soft and liquid is reduced to 6 cups, about 2 hours. Add salt to taste. Set aside.

Blanch cabbage in boiling water until just cooked. Drain. Cook noodles according to package directions.

Place 1/2 tablespoon chopped green onion, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil and pepper to taste in each serving bowl. Add some broth, cabbage and cooked noodles. Top with oxtails.

4 servings. Each serving:

354 calories; 577 mg sodium; 67 mg cholesterol; 4 grams fat; 53 grams carbohydrates; 20 grams protein; 0.77 gram fiber.

OXTAIL WITH TOMATO

This recipe is from “Beef?” (Wei-Chaun Publishing, 1993.)

2 tablespoons oil

1/4 cup chopped onion

2 pounds oxtails

3 cups plus 1 tablespoon water

1/2 cup soy sauce

3 tablespoons wine

3 tablespoons catsup

1 cup diced carrot

1 cup diced tomato

1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon cornstarch

Cooked noodles, optional

Heat oil in Dutch oven, add onion and stir-fry until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add oxtails, 3 cups water, soy sauce, wine and catsup and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook 1 hour 40 minutes.

Add carrot, tomato and sugar. Cook until liquid is reduced to 1 cup, about 20 minutes. If too much liquid remains, turn heat to high and cook uncovered to slightly evaporate liquid. Blend 1 tablespoon water and cornstarch. Add to oxtail mixture and cook, stirring, until thickened. Serve over noodles.

4 servings. Each serving:

235 calories; 2,208 mg sodium; 67 mg cholesterol; 10 grams fat; 15 grams carbohydrates; 22 grams protein; 0.54 gram fiber.