Warm hearty Hong Kong style Borscht (oxtail soup) with oxtail and stew beef, onion, celery, carrot, tomatoes, potatoes, and cabbage.
Yesterday was my husband’s birthday. Since our birthdays are just one week apart, we used to go to a nice restaurant in San Francisco to celebrate our birthdays together. After our children were born, we started a new tradition: he prepares my birthday dinner, and a week later I prepare his birthday dinner and we celebrate together with our children.
This year my husband cooked Thomas Keller’s Pork Tenderloin for us, and I cooked his favorite soup, Hong Kong Style Borscht, as per his request.
You might wonder and ask me what the “Hong Kong Style” means. According to my husband, this is Chinese style (precisely Hong Kong-style cafe’s) Borscht soup. The original Ukrainian Borscht soup uses beetroot as the main ingredient while tomato is the main ingredient for the Hong Kong style.
This soup is my husband’s favorite because his mom used to make it. Besides his mom’s version, it also reminded him of the late-night Hong Kong cafe meals during college since the soup was served complimentary with most meals. As soon as I became his wife, he asked me if I can make Borscht soup. He was asking me who grew up drinking mostly miso soup! Well, I had no idea how to make it and I kept ignoring his wishes for the past few years.
My husband probably got fed up with me ignoring his request so one day he came to me with a recipe in one hand and asked me to make it. I thought I should give it a try and I made the soup. I wasn’t much of a fan of oxtail before this soup but I added because his mom always included oxtail. Oh boy, I’m so glad I did because it adds a wonderful flavor! The fatty goodness from the oxtail blends in the soup and provides some yummy grease in a predominately vegetable soup.
So that’s the story of my husband’s favorite soup. One time we invited my brother-in-law for having this soup and he really loved it as well. I was happy I could re-create their mom’s favorite soup from their childhood memory. I hope you enjoy this soup because I also fell in love with this soup and so did my children. It’s a family favorite now. Have a great week!
Speed Up the Cooking with a Pressure Cooker (Instant Pot)!
You can make this dish in a pressure cooker (Instant Pot) too!
With the help of a pressure cooker, Oxtail Soup (Hong Kong Style Borscht) can be prepared in much less time! This hearty and flavorful tomato-based soup is cooked with oxtail and stew beef, onion
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Oxtail Soup - Hong Kong Style Borscht
Ingredients
- 1.2 lbs oxtails (4-5 pieces)
- 1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (for searing stew beef)
- 1.2 lbs stew beef (chuck cut into bite-size cubes) (pat dry with a paper towel right before searing )
- 1 ½ Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (for cooking vegetables)
- 2 onions (cut into slices)
- 7 stalks celery (chopped into small pieces)
- 2-3 carrots (peeled and cut into ½" (1.3 cm) pieces)
- 4 tomatoes (cut into wedges)
- ¼ cabbage (3 cups chopped)
- 8 cups beef stock
- 1 can tomato paste (6 oz, 120 g)
- 2 russet potatoes (peeled and cut into small cubes)
Seasonings A:
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 Tbsp dried basil (2 Tbsp fresh)
- 1 tsp paprika
- freshly ground black pepper
Seasonings B:
- 3 Tbsp brown sugar (packed)
- 2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
- 2 tsp kosher/sea salt (I use Diamond Crystal; use half for table salt)
Instructions
To Prep Oxtail
- Soak the oxtail in cold water for 1 hour, changing the water a few times. Transfer the oxtail to a large pot of water, bring to a boil, and lower the heat to simmer for 15 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water to remove foam and scum. Set aside. Tip: Soaking and blanching the oxtail before cooking will remove any blood and impurities.
To Sear Stew Beef
- In a large heavy-bottom pot (you will need a 6.75 to 8 QT pot), heat 1 Tbsp oil over medium-high heat and sear the surface of the stew beef. Once seared, transfer to a plate and set aside. Tip: This step will enhance the savory flavor.
To Cook Oxtail Soup
- In the same pot, heat 1 ½ Tbsp oil on medium heat and sauté onion and celery until they are tender.
- Add the seared stew beef, carrot, cabbage, tomatoes, beef broth, and tomato paste and bring it to a boil.
- Add the oxtails. Once it boils, lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes. With a fine-mesh sieve, skim off the scum and foam on the soup’s surface. This step can be tedious but it’s the key to a clean taste when you drink the soup.
- Add Seasonings A and reduce heat to medium-low or low. Cover and simmer (not boiling) for at least 3-4 hours, or until meat comes off from oxtail bones and becomes tender.
- Add potatoes and cook until tender, about 15 minutes.
- Stir in Seasonings B and mix well. Ladle the soup to individual bowls. Enjoy!
To Store
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container or in the pot and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for a month. Remove the potatoes as they change the texture when frozen.
This recipe was amazing! I love HK style borscht, and I’ve tried making it before but this one is by far the best recipe. My brother liked it so much he had three huge bowls of it (and he usually goes for the non-borscht soups when we go to chinese cafes), so I think it was a huge success.
The oxtail definitely makes it taste way better than the ones you get in cafes, too.
Hi Sora! Thank you so much for your feedback! Aww you made my day! I’m so happy to hear you liked it. Isn’t it amazing? I fell in love with this soup and I can have it every week (and kids eat all these veggies without any complaint!). I’m glad you and your brother enjoyed it. It’s pretty easy to make and it’s so delicious. One time I didn’t have oxtail so I made with stew beef, but for sure oxtail makes this soup 100x better! Thank you again for making this and letting me know! 🙂
I made this today and it’s definitely gourmet. HK style restaurant borscht is fairly watered down when it comes to ingredients. I found 1.5 hours not enough time for the ox tail meat, it’s likely I’ll boil that for an hour by itself the next time I make it.
I definitely recommend this recipe to everyone.
Hi Stryder! Thank you for your feedback! I’m glad you enjoyed it. Yes, if you have more time, it’s definitely better to cook for a little longer. I mentioned at least 1.5 hours in my recipe, but I usually cook more than that on low heat. Maybe I’ll try boiling oxtail longer next time too! Thank you for your input! 🙂
Hi Nami! Just recently have been to Hong Kong and tried in one of their cafe’s Borsch! It was so funny for me, because I grew up eating Russian borsch cooked by my mother every week:) , which is of course completely different dish. But I started to look for information on origins of Hong Kong Borch and that is what I found out – whenRevolution happened in 1917 in Russia , lots of Russians emigrated to different parts of the world, including China! Namely in Beijing they started to open restaurants , offering food that was dear to them – borsch, beef stroganoff etc. As Time passed, receipes were adjusted to Asian tastes and transformed into what we see today in Hong Kong cafes! I found it facinating! Thanks for sharing this receipe.!
Hi Eka! Thank you so much for writing, and how interesting! This is my husband’s favorite soup back in college and I didn’t even now about Hong Kong style Borsch till he mentioned. This is my family’s favorite soup now and I make it once in a while. I think I fell in love with this soup already. 🙂 Thank you for stopping by!
Hi Nami,
I tried to make this soup but did not have any beef stew or cabbage but it turned out amazing. It was really hearty. Much better than the versions I’ve had in some HK style cafes. Thank you for sharing. We definitely make this again.
Hi babybluepowder! Thanks so much for your feedback. I’m glad you enjoyed this recipe! I miss eating this dish – I should make it this week. 🙂
This is a favourite of mine too growing up in Hong Kong. I will make this.
Hi Sylvia! Hope you enjoy! It’s our family’s favorite soup now. 🙂
Hi may I know the brand of the pot that u r using to boil this soup or which brand do u think it can keep most of the water even it boils for 3-4 hours. The water in my pot evaporate so fast that after two hour it will be completely gone. I really want to but a pot that can retain the water/soup. Thank u
Hi Yolinda! I use a Le Creuset cast iron pot for making this soup (now that I have an Instant Pot, I’ve been making it with this pressure cooker these days). Do you cover to cook? If you cover and simmer, it should not evaporate much. Maybe you do, but still evaporate? I’m afraid your heat is a little too strong. Hope this helps. 🙂
Maybe my flame is too strong. How strong is ur flame for medium heat and I knew that Le Creuset could not use under high heat so can u tell me how strong is ur flame for medium so that I can keep my pot for a lifetime thank you
Hi Yolinda! You will need to “simmer”. It shouldn’t be rolling boiling, it’s right below boiling temp. Every stove “medium” is different. My new stove is so strong, my “medium” now is “medium high” on my previous stove… You will need to cook on simmer. 🙂
Thank you for ur answer
I love all your recipes! You mentioned that you’re now making this in the instant pot pressure cooker. Can you please post the recipe. I want to make it in my 6 quart instant pot.
Thanks
Hi May! Next time I make, I’ll take notes. When I make for my family, I don’t always follow the recipe precisely… 😀
Nami,
Have you used the OnePot for this recipe? Can you?
Thanks,
Irene J
Hi Irene! I’ll work on it. 🙂
Love the soup when i used to have it in a Hainanese run Russian restaurant. The restaurant has closed some time ago.
Thank you for the recipe. I have used it many times now. The soup always bring a smile to those who love the flavour of beef and one bowl of it is never enough. So, whenever I cook this soup I always cook it in a large pot.
Today, I’m trying it out on two pressured pot. Hope it works just the same.
Hi Chng! I’m so happy you liked this recipe. Mr. JOC’s favorite and I make this a lot in winter time. 🙂 My next Instant Pot (pressure cooker) recipe I’ll be sharing on my blog is this recipe! Hope yours came out well using pressure cooker. 🙂
Thanks. It was a great pot of soup.
The soup on the pressure pot reduced the cooking time. The taste and consistency are just the same with slow cooking.
Would love to see your recipe on instant pot.
Thank you for your response! I’ll need to work on it soon! 🙂
Chinese Borscht recipe- why boil the oxtails for one hour then drain the water? Wouldn’t the water be flavourful?
Hi Helen! Someone left a comment on my recent Pressure Cooker Oxtail post about the same thing, which got me thinking.
I wish I did some research before using oxtail for the first time, but I follow a Chinese blogger’s recipe (I mentioned in the Note, but that website is no longer available) to prepare the oxtail. I followed exactly – didn’t think twice about it – and I kept making the same way – so I made the pressure cooker recipe based on this recipe.
I did some extensive research and you’re right – 15 minutes is good amount. Japanese usually put oxtails in water, bring to boil, throw away water, add water, bring to boil, throw away… usually 1-3 times.
I think, 15 minutes is good, and I updated the recipe. Thank you for bringing to my attention!
This is my go-to recipe for Chinese Russia borscht. Such a favorite and so delicious! Thank you!
Thank you so much, Connie! It’s Mr. JOC’s favorite and he was just saying yesterday he wants to eat this. 🙂 Thank you for your kind feedback. xo
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe! I tried this last night and it was delicious!
Super healthy and just like the one I had in HK.
Hi Jo! I’m so happy to hear that! This is our favorite soup now too (it used to be just Mr. JOC’s). Thank you for trying this recipe and taking your time to write the kind feedback. xo
I made it and it was delicious.
Hi Mimi! I’m so glad to hear that. Thank you so much for the kind feedback!
Hi there,
I was just wondering if this recipe can be made in the instant pot. If so, what are the instructions?
Thanks!
Hi Marilyn! Yes, I have and here’s the recipe and video: https://www.justonecookbook.com/pressure-cooker-oxtail-soup/
Enjoy!
Hi Marilyn! Here it is: https://www.justonecookbook.com/pressure-cooker-oxtail-soup/
Enjoy!
Hi! Can you make this without the bones? I love a good ox tail soup but my grocery store doesn’t sell any beef bones (I asked). Actually I saw a package of bones… once in three years! So wondering if/how this can be adapted to just beef broth if possible. Looks so good!
Hi Grace! The bone gives rich flavor in the broth but if you can’t find it, then you just have to make it without it. It’ll be still delicious. Don’t skip the searing part. 🙂
Great soup! I noticed this said Honk Kong style borscht but this still takes me to the same oxtail soup recipe. Is this the same thing?
Hi Lindsay! Thank you! May I know which link you clicked?
I have the same recipe but cooked in the Instant Pot here: https://www.justonecookbook.com/pressure-cooker-oxtail-soup/
Were you talking about a different recipe?
Oh my! This was so good and so much like the soup I buy in HK. Thank you! Thank you! (I skipped the beef and doubled the tail, Pan fried the tail before adding it in and skipped the pre boil. Also didn’t add potatoes.)
Hi John! Thanks so much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback! I’m so happy you liked it. 🙂
I’m making this for our Xmas family gathering. Need to double the recipe for 20+ people. With the larger amount of meat, would you suggest to broil the oxtail and chuck in the oven instead of browning batch by batch in a pan? It may go faster and minimize active time in front of the stove? What temp and for how long would you use?
Also have you tasted the Russian cabbage soup at Max’s Cafe? It’s similarly delicious but I think they added raisins. Trying to duplicate that taste as well.
Thanks for the recipe. It’s perfect for a cold Winter’s day, like now in the Bay Area.
Hi Karen! I apologize for my late response. Yes, you can broil the meat in the oven. There is no temperature for broil. Mine is low, medium, high. Make sure to watch how the meat is getting brown.
https://www.thekitchn.com/cooking-school-day-19-broil-and-sear-the-kitchns-cooking-school-211025
No, I haven’t tried the Russian cabbage soup at Max’s Cafe. If I get a chance, I’ll definitely try! 🙂
Happy Holidays!
My grandma used to make this all the time time. I also like it with chicken instead of oxtail.
Quick tip: instead of soaking it, then skimming foam off later. Boil/simmer it briefly, just long enough to remove the blood and fat. You can boil it longer for oxtail since it has a long cooking time. Dump out water. Cook as normal.
Hi Cc! Thank you for your helpful tips!
Fantastic recipe! I am from HK and must say this recipe yields even better results than the already yummy and memorable cafe version. Made this tonight and ate two bowls by myself.
I used beef neck bones in lieu of the stew meat, oxtail, and beef stock. I wanted less meat and more soup – worked out so well!
Thanks for sharing this special recipe.
Hi Annabel! Wow, thank you so much for your kind feedback. I’m so happy you tried this recipe and enjoyed it. 🙂
Hi, can I cook this using a thermal pot as it’s not heavy-based? Thanks
Hi KT! Do you mean a slow cooker? I haven’t tried, but I think you can?
Thanks for the recipe this looks very good! I’m making it for the first time but have made some stews before. I think it would add more depth to the soup to stir fry the vegetables in the tomato paste first. I’m also considering browning the oxtail a little first. For the soup I might add some lemon juice and a couple spicy peppers. To cut down on time I’m using a pressure cooker for the meats/broth (+ some throwaway vegetables to give flavor to the broth) and will add it to the vegetables afterwards that I intend to eat.
I also just came across this video explaining the history behind the dish in case you’re interested!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAu6nakL9lA
Hi Cleo, Thank you for trying this recipe and sharing your cooking tip with us! As Nami mentioned in this post, this recipe was adapted from Lulu at Home (no longer exists) back in 2011. Here is the Pressure Cooker Oxtail Soup recipe that Nami published in 2017. https://www.justonecookbook.com/pressure-cooker-oxtail-soup/ We hope you enjoy this pressure cooker version as well. Happy Cooking!☺️