Mock Oxtail Soup
As the story goes, only the poor got the tail of the cow. The meat from the tail had to be stewed for hours to be edible. However as the tail slowly cooked it became delicious tender meat. The collagen and fibers break down and the bone is known as the most flavorful bone for soup.
Oxtail is a delicacy in many Caribbean, African and Asian cuisines.
After enjoying Korean oxtail soup at a restaurant, I tried making it myself. Unfortunately it is time consuming and quite expensive since it is a specialty item. Therefore, I came up with the simple inexpensive Mock Oxtail Soup.
Instead of the tail, I use the Shin Bone (also known as Shank) of the Cow. It is usually one of the cheapest cuts but is very tender like oxtail when cooked low for long hours. It is not always easy to find in conventional grocery stores since it is often overlooked as a tender cut of meat. It is not as fatty as oxtail or as rich, but I have come to prefer it to oxtail for these reasons.
Garlic Shank Soup with silver noodles and green onions
2-3 lb pack Shin bone/Shank with bone in
Garlic
Green onions
Onion
Soy sauce as needed (about 1 Tbsp)
2 Tbsp cooking wine
Silver noodles (these are sweet potato noodles found at Asian stores) They are silver/clear in color when cooked so the kids call them silver noodles.
Instructions:
Cook the shinbone on low in a crockpot of 8 hours with 6 whole cloves of garlic and the onion cut in half. Fill the crockpot almost to the top with water. Add 1 Tbsp soy sauce.
After 8 hours remove the onion.
Add salt and pepper to taste
Finally grate another 6 cloves of garlic and add it to the soup.
Add the sweet potato noodles and continue cooking until the noodles are tender.
Then add about 1 cup chopped green onions
Healthy reasons to cook with the bone
The bones in the body store nutrients such as calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and potassium. When bones are simmered to create a broth the nutrients from the bones dissolve into the water.