Textual Chef Textual Chef

Sop Buntut Oxtail Soup

A rich Indonesian oxtail soup fragrant with warm spices, tender fall-off-the-bone oxtail, and a clear golden broth. Plan ahead: allow 2 hours for the oxtail to become fully tender.

90 minMediumServes 4410 cal/serving

IndonesianSoupPressure CookerStandardHigh FiberLow CarbGluten-FreeDairy-FreeLow-SodiumPork-FreeCorn-Free

Ingredients

  • 4 lbs oxtail pieces, rinsed
  • 8 cups water
  • 6 shallots, thinly sliced
  • 6 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 inches fresh ginger, sliced
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 4 whole cloves
  • 2 star anise pods
  • 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 2 tbsp neutral oil (vegetable or canola)
  • 2 tbsp fish sauce
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp ground white pepper
  • 2 cups Yukon Gold potatoes, cut in chunks
  • 2 cups carrots, cut in chunks
  • 2 celery stalks, sliced
  • 4 green onions, sliced
  • 4 tbsp fried shallots (store-bought or homemade)

Instructions

  1. 1

    Place 4 lbs oxtail pieces in the pressure cooker, cover with cold water, and bring to a boil for 5 minutes to blanch. Drain, rinse the oxtail, and rinse the pot clean.

  2. 2

    Heat 2 tbsp neutral oil (vegetable or canola) in the pressure cooker over medium heat. Add 6 thinly sliced shallots, 6 minced garlic cloves, and 2 inches sliced fresh ginger; sauté until golden and fragrant, about 4 minutes.

  3. 3

    Add the blanched oxtail back to the pot. Pour in 8 cups water and add 2 cinnamon sticks, 4 whole cloves, 2 star anise pods, 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg, 1/2 tsp ground white pepper, and 2 tsp salt.

  4. 4

    Seal the pressure cooker lid and cook on high pressure for 45 minutes. Release pressure naturally for 15 minutes, then quick-release any remaining pressure.

  5. 5

    Open the lid and skim off excess fat from the surface. Stir in 2 tbsp fish sauce. Add 2 cups cut in chunks Yukon Gold potatoes and 2 cups cut in chunks carrots, reseal, and cook on high pressure for 5 more minutes, then quick-release.

  6. 6

    Remove the whole spices (cinnamon, cloves, star anise). Stir in 2 sliced celery stalks and taste for seasoning. The oxtail should be fully tender and fall easily off the bone; internal temperature should read at least 160°F (71°C).

  7. 7

    Ladle into bowls and top with 4 sliced green onions and 4 tbsp fried shallots (store-bought or homemade).

Questions

How long does Sop Buntut Oxtail Soup keep?

Refrigerate it up to four days, or freeze it in portions for up to three months. Reheat gently on the stovetop with a splash of water or stock to loosen it.

Can I halve or double Sop Buntut Oxtail Soup?

Yes. As written it serves 4. Every ingredient in this entry carries precomputed half and double quantities, and the app's batch dial rewrites them inside each step. Never fill a pressure cooker past its max line; the cook time itself does not change when you double.

Serve it with

Cook this free in the app

Textual Chef is 4,512 plain-text recipes, free to read and free to cook from. No account, no paywall, no ads, no life stories. Open this one in the app and each quantity sits inside the step that uses it, so you read once and cook.

Every recipe is curated or public-domain sourced, written to one template and checked before it publishes. Nothing here is a scraped blog post.

Cook this free in the appNo download needed. It opens in your browser. The kitchen tools (planner, shopping list, pantry, import) are $5.33 a month billed annually; the first 30 days are free.

More Indonesian entries

All Indonesian recipes · All Soup recipes