BBQ OXTAIL

I know....I know....no one barbecued the oxtail before. But let me tell you the 'backscene' why I made it :).

I have plenty of oxtail, and got bored with oxtail soup :(. What should I do with those oxtails?!

Think, think and think! For some reason, I kept thinking that oxtail can be cook with soup only, and it is Indonesian food! So, my brain kept thinking that I should find any "Indonesian" spices to make this oxtail.

Suddenly, I remember when I was in Jakarta, I ate this Indonesian (Makassar) style grilled ribs. And they are so good! And at that time, Konro Karebosi is the only restaurant which is sold this yummy grilled ribs. But, I bet there are plenty of restaurant sold this Makassar style grilled ribs now.



So, from that memories of eating grilled ribs with my mom and siblings, I got an idea to make BBQ Oxtail :). Luckily, I have all the ingredients that I need to make my BBQ Oxtail :).

And, I'm so happy because it turned out so good. It is very tangy. Even when I grilled it, I smelled the tanginess already. It is a good choice if you are bored with oxtail soup!



BBQ Oxtail

Ingredients:
4 big pieces oxtail, trimmed
Vegetable oil for frying

Flour Mixture:
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tbsp nutmeg
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp dried basil

BBQ Sauce:
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cloves shallot, minced
1 yellow onion, sliced
1 inch ginger root, minced
1-1/2 jalapeno, minced (you can add or reduce the jalapeno as you like)
1 tsp nutmeg
1/4 cup ketchup
4 tbsps worcestershire sauce
2 tbsps cider vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 tbsps rice cooking wine
1 tbsp tabasco
1/2 lemon, squeezed
50 ml water
Salt and blackpepper, to taste

Preparation:
1. Heat the oil over medium high heat.
2. Combine the flour mixture. Dredge the oxtails in the flour mixture. Shake off the excess flour.
3. Fry the floured oxtails into the hot oil until the sides are browned and crispy look. Remove from the pan. Set aside.
4. Transfer the oil and excess fat from the pan. Add 3 tbsps olive oil into the pan. Stir in garlic, shallot, onion and ginger until the onion is caramelized. Add in ketchup, worcestershire sauce, cider vinegar, brown sugar, rice cooking wine, tabasco, lemon juice, water, salt and black pepper. Let it slightly boiled.
5. Put the oxtails into the sauce. Coat it up with the sauce. Turn down the heat to low heat. Cover the pan. Let it simmer for 2.5 hours or until you can easily pull the meat off from the bone with fork. Don't forget to turn the oxtails once in a while.
6. Remove the oxtails from the sauce. And grill it on a griller (you can use char-griller, BBQ-griller, any griller will works). Grill it until just enough to have a bit burnt texture. Don't forget to brush it with the sauce while you grill it. If you don't have a griller, you can broil it in the oven. Broil it for 2 to 3 minutes each sides or until there is a bit burnt texture on the oxtails. Or, you can use a non-stick pan and panbroil it until both sides have burnt texture.
7. Serve it with the BBQ sauce and warm brown rice. Yummmm!

GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN

Since I'd bought lots of chicken breasts fillet, this time I make General Tso's Chicken which is pretty famous in chinese cuisine. The story said that this chicken dish was the favorite dish of General Tso, that's why it called General Tso's Chicken.

Basically, it just chicken breasts cooked with soy sauce. It tasted good tho. Also, it is an easy dish :). The bad news is I don't have hoisin sauce so I added a little bit Indonesian sweet soy sauce, and surprisingly, it still tasted good :). The fried ginger is also the main key of the fragrance of this dish.

For me, it is a refreshing dish after I only cooked very simple dish these few last days :).



General Tso's Chicken

Ingredients:
4 pieces large chicken breasts' fillet, trim the fat and diced into bite-size
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch ginger root, peeled and julienned
3 pieces dried chilli, halved
3 stalks spring onion, julienned (or cut into matches size)
1/4 cup light soy sauce
3 tbsps shaoxing wine
2 tbsps sweet cooking wine
1-1/2 tbsps sweet soy sauce (hoisin sauce)
A pinch salt and white pepper
1-1/2 cups vegetable oil

Marinade Sauce:
4 tbsps light soy sauce
2 tbsps shaoxing wine
1 tbsp sweet cooking wine
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp salt
4 or 5 tbsps tapioca starch

Preparation:
Combine the marinade sauce in a small bowl. In a medium bowl, place the bit-sized chicken breasts. Pour in the marinade sauce. Mix it until the chicken are thoroughly coated by the marinade sauce. Marinade it for 20 to 30 minutes.

Heat the oil over medium high heat. Add tapioca starch into marinating chicken. Make sure the chicken is coated by the tapioca starch. Fry the chicken into the prepared oil until browned and crisp. Drain the chicken over a paper towel.

Transfer the hot oil into a bowl, leave 3 tablespoons oil on the pan. Add in ginger and garlic, stir fry until fragrant. Add in dried chilli. Stir fry for 1 to 2 minutes. Add in light soy sauce, shaoxing wine, sweet cooking wine, sweet soy sauce (if you use it), salt and pepper. Let it boil for a while until the sauce slightly reduced. Add in the fried chicken. Stir fry until all chicken are coated by the sauce. Add in spring onion. Cook for another 2 minutes. Remove from the stove. Serve it with warm brown rice.