Seolleongtang (Korean Ox Bone Soup)
This milk colored broth pairs perfectly with a black earthenware bowl. I used the black to show the contrast of how white the soup is. I found that in order to make it extremely rich and flavorful, I baby it over a rolling boil with just enough water to cover all the broth ingredients, so I’m constantly adding water as it boils down. This is a super simple bone broth soup with a very clean and refreshing flavor.
Unfortunately, the rolling boil is necessary for the color, as I found out it doesn’t gain this milky opacity if I use a pressure cooker. The violent movement of the water allows everything to emulsify so it’s good for a day I’m staying at home.
I used some baby radishes I got from last week’s misfit market box, but you can use Daikon or white Korean radishes.
Ingredients
- Water
- 1 – 2 lbs beef neck bones or oxtail
- About 4 inch length of Daikon or Korean radish, or 6 – 8 baby white radishes, peeled
- 1/2 white onion
- Garlic cloves, minced for garnish
- Scallions, diced for ganish
- A course finishing salt like pink Himalayan or flake sea salt
- Hot pepper flakes (optional)
- Fresh cracked black pepper
- Rice
- Rinse the beef bones/oxtail under cold running water. Place in pot of water and bring to a boil for about 10 minutes. Discard scummy water and rinse beef bones/ox tail.
- Return beef bones/oxtail to pot with daikon radish and onion half, cover with water, and bring to a rolling boil.
- Allow to boil for 1 hour and then remove radish, adding water as it boils down.
- Boil for another 3 – 4 hours until meat is falling off the bones and the broth is a milky white. Skim the fat off the top (or put into fridge for a few hours and scrape off solidified fat.)
- Serve hot with rice, garlic, scallions, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes (if using), topped with the reserved radish and meat.