With the help of an Instant Pot, you can make this Pressure Cooker Oxtail Soup quickly. Known as Hong Kong-style Borscht, it‘s a hearty tomato-based soup chock full of melt-in-your-mouth oxtail and flavorful vegetables. It‘s sheer comfort in a bowl!
Today’s recipe is the pressure cooker version of our family’s favorite Oxtail Soup – Hong Kong Style Borscht. Since it’s Mr. JOC’s favorite comfort soup, I’ve been cooking this recipe with my Instant Pot to reduce cooking time.
For those unfamiliar with Hong Kong-style Borscht, it’s an oxtail soup that uses tomatoes instead of beetroots in the classic Russian Borscht. If you love tomato base soup, you’ll enjoy this rich and flavorful Oxtail Soup during the cold months.
What’s Oxtail?
Did you grow up eating oxtail? Oxtail is the culinary name for the tail of cattle. Growing up in Japan, I had never heard of oxtail (牛の尾, オックステール). When I came to the U.S. and learned the word “ox” in English means cattle, I was surprised that this particular part of cattle is edible. I was a bit uncomfortable the first time I tried this meat. You should have seen my children’s reaction when I told them the first time which part of the cattle they were eating when I made this soup. Well, that didn’t stop us from loving oxtails, as they give such unique flavors, and the meat is super tender and juicy.
Each oxtail piece has a tailbone with some marrow in the center. There is not much meat surrounding the tail; when there is, they tend to be more gelatinous.
Oxtails are great for making braises, soups, stews, and stocks. You might have tried the classic Russian/Ukrainian Borscht, Italian Oxtail Stew, Korean Oxtail Soup, Chinese Oxtail Soup, and Filipino Kare-Kare.
Oxtail requires a long time to cook since it’s so bony and fatty. However, with the help of pressure cooking, you can minimize the cooking time!
Tips for Making Pressure Cooker Oxtail Soup
Oxtail:
If you have never purchased oxtails, go to the butcher or a grocery store with a butcher counter. If the grocery store doesn’t have them in the showcase, they sometimes keep them in the freezer. So remember that you must shop at least one day before you cook this dish to have enough time to defrost oxtails in the refrigerator overnight.
You can use stew beef. Pressure cook for 15-20 minutes (much shorter!)
Vegetables:
Make sure to saute onion and celery and get the flavor base going! I highly recommend using all the vegetables I listed in this recipe without substation. Each ingredient contributes nicely to the soup.
Tomato Paste:
Depending on how tomato-ey you want your soup to be, you can adjust the amount of tomato paste you put in your soup. I recommend at least two tablespoons to start with.
You can use tomato puree or tomato sauce if you don’t have tomato paste. You can reduce 2-3 tablespoons of tomato puree or sauce for one tablespoon of tomato paste until thickened.
Beef Broth:
I use beef broth from Trader Joe’s, and I like it as it’s not too salty compared to other brands. If you use other brands, please taste the soup before adding salt.
Pressure Cooker (Instant Pot):
I usually use pressure cooking mode on my favorite Instant Pot (I’m not sponsored; I just love this gadget!) rather than slow cooking mode simply because I typically decide on dinner menus pretty last minute.
If you have an electric slow cooker or slow cooking that fits your lifestyle, you can also use this recipe.
No pressure cooker or slow cooker?
You can make it on the stovetop!
Pressure Cooker Oxtail Soup
Video
Ingredients
- 2 lb oxtails
- 1 onion
- 2 ribs celery
- 2 carrots
- ¼ head green cabbage (5.4 oz, 160 g)
- 2 tomatoes
- 2 Yukon gold potatoes
- ½ lb boneless beef chuck roast (I recommend chuck roast for its tenderness and higher quality; you can use stew beef, but it‘s not as tender; I used stew beef here)
- 1½ Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- ⅛ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- ⅛ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 4 cups beef stock/broth
For Seasonings A
- 2 Tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 Tbsp dried basil (or 2 Tbsp fresh basil)
- 2 bay leaves
For Seasonings B
- 3 Tbsp brown sugar (packed)
- 2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
- 2 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- ⅛ tsp freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Before You Start…Please note that this recipe requires 2 hours of Soaking Time + Pressurizing/Depressurizing Time. Gather all the ingredients.
To Prepare the Oxtails
- Trim and discard any excess fat attached to the oxtail pieces. To completely remove the blood and impurities from the oxtail bone, soak 2 lb oxtails in cold water for 1 hour, changing the water a few times.
To Prepare the Vegetables
- Meanwhile, cut 1 onion into wedges, chop 2 ribs celery into small pieces, and cut 2 carrots into chunks.
- Roughly cut ¼ head green cabbage into 1-inch (2.5-cm) squares and rinse under running water.
- Cut 2 tomatoes into wedges and cut the wedges in half crosswise. Peel and cut 2 Yukon gold potatoes into quarters and soak them in water for 15 minutes to remove the excess starch.
- Cut ½ lb boneless beef chuck roast (or stew beef) into smaller pieces. Pat the pieces dry with a paper towel for searing later.
To Boil the Oxtails
- After soaking the oxtails for one hour, drain the water. Place them in a large pot and cover with cold water. Bring it to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, turn down the heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Using a fine-mesh sieve, skim off the foam and scum on the surface frequently. After simmering, take out the oxtail or drain the water. Blanching oxtails before cooking helps remove blood and impurities.
To Sauté the Ingredients
- Press the Sauté button on an Instant Pot (I use a 6 QT Instant Pot) or heat your stovetop pressure cooker. Add 1½ Tbsp extra virgin olive oil to the pot.
- Once the pot is hot, add the chuck roast (or stew beef) and season with ⅛ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt and ⅛ tsp freshly ground black pepper. Sear the beef until it‘s brown on all sides. For a good sear, don’t flip the pieces around until they release themselves. Transfer the meat to a plate.
- Add the onion and celery and sauté until they are coated with oil and become tender. While sautéing, scrape the flavorful charred bits from the bottom of the pot. Add the tomatoes, carrots, and cabbage and toss to coat them with oil.
- When the vegetables are a bit wilted and soft, add the boiled oxtail, browned stew beef, and 4 cups beef stock/broth.
- Now, add Seasonings A: 2 Tbsp tomato paste, 1 tsp paprika, 1 Tbsp dried basil, and 2 bay leaves.
To Pressure Cook
- Cover and lock the lid on the pressure cooker. Make sure the steam release handle points at Sealing and not Venting. For the Instant Pot, press the Keep Warm/Cancel button to stop the Sauté mode. Press the Meat/Stew button to switch to the pressure cooking mode. Press the Plus (+) button to set the cooking time to 45 minutes.
- For a stovetop pressure cooker, cook on high heat until high pressure is reached. Then, reduce the heat to low but maintain high pressure for about 45 minutes.
- When it is finished cooking, the Instant Pot will switch automatically to the “Keep Warm” mode. Let the pressure release naturally, about 15–20 minutes.
- After depressurizing, unlock the lid. Add the potatoes and Seasonings B: 3 Tbsp brown sugar, 2 Tbsp white wine vinegar, and 2 tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt). Add ⅛ tsp freshly ground black pepper, if you‘d like.
- Cover and lock the lid again on the pressure cooker. Make sure the steam release handle points at Sealing. For the Instant Pot, press the Keep Warm/Cancel button and press the Manual button to switch to pressure cooking mode. Press the Minus (-) button to change the cooking time to 15 minutes.
- For a stovetop pressure cooker, cook on high heat until high pressure is reached. Then, reduce the heat to low but maintain high pressure for about 15 minutes.
- When it is finished cooking, the Instant Pot will switch automatically to the Keep Warm mode. Let the pressure release naturally, about 15–20 minutes. Unlock the lid and mix well.
To Remove Fat from the Soup (optional)
- After making the soup, refrigerate it for at least five hours or overnight. The fat will harden and float to the top, where you can skim it off with a spoon or skimmer. Another "hack" I saw online was to hold a stainless steel ladle filled with ice cubes over the soup to attract the grease. The ladle works like a magnet and you just keep wiping off solidified grease on the lade with paper towel.
To Serve
- To serve, ladle the soup into individual bowls and enjoy!
To Store
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for a month.
Nutrition
Disclaimer: We received no compensation for the wine review. We received 3 different wines from Jarvis Communications free of charge to use in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed this recipe very much, made a few times already! I found that not all soup (especially Chinese soup) taste good with instant pot, but this oxtail soup works very well in instant pot!
Nami, If you can, please introduce more instant pot soup recipes! Maybe soup with bone (women need calcium)! Thanks so much!
Hi Cecilia,
Thank you so much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback. We’re so glad to hear you enjoyed the soup!
Nami has an instant pot soup recipe called Sapporo Soup Curry too. https://www.justonecookbook.com/soup-curry/. We hope you would like it too.😊
How long would you cook the ox tail soup in a slow cooker? What setting?
Hi Csaisho! Should be 5-6 hours on high or 10 hours on low. 🙂
I’ve been reading your blog for years and this is the first time I’m commenting because I have made this oxtail stew for about the 10th time and my family loves it every time! Usually I am in a time crunch and I don’t soak the oxtail or do a boil of them. This time I did and it was SO worth it. I didn’t realize the negative effect the blood and scum had on the end product. This time the soup was clear and even better! Super happy with this recipe. I usually modify recipes when I cook but I didn’t change a single thing with this one!
Hi Nami, I absolutely loved making this soup. It reminded me of childhood and HK cafes. It tasted so delicious and perfect for winter right now. Oxtail was melt in mouth and I will use a different cut of meat next time (I used chuck meat and it wasn’t as melt in mouth). I only used a little bit of brown sugar and did not add white wine vinegar. I added extra tomato and didn’t even need the salt. It was perfect. Thank you for this recipe! It made me so happy eating this. I will be making this again and again!
Hi Sandy! Glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe and thanks so much for your kind feedback! I’m glad you adjusted well to your liking! xo
So delicious!! I love this recipe but will halve the brown sugar next time – the HK Borscht I’m use to has a little less sweetness. I also would put the cabbage in with the potatoes because mine ended up being too soft to the point of dissolving. Also your step for sautéing the stew meat is listed twice in the recipe. Thanks again for another winning recipe!!
Hi Cindy! Thank you so much for trying this recipe and for your feedback! I fixed the instructions. Thanks for letting me know!
I just made this soup tonight. Turned out amazing! Thank you!
Hi Sabrina! Thanks for triyng this recipe! I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe!
I made this tonight and we loved it! Thank you so much for this recipe.
Hi Non! I’m so glad to hear that. Thank you for your kind feedback! xo
Tastes just like my grandmother’s. I added some barley to it. Just marvelous. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Hi Jodie! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed the recipe! Thank you for your kind feedback! xo
Can’t wait to make ox tail soup. Didn’t know had to boil first, learn something everyday. Marlene
Hi Marlene! Hope you enjoy the recipe! Boil first and throw away the water, so the meat and broth has a cleaner taste. 🙂
Hi Nami – I love this recipe! However, I have a mini 3-qt instapot. How do I adjust the amount of ingredients and amount of cooking time? Thanks much!
Hi Neil! Mine is 6 QT, so cut my recipes in half. 🙂 Cooking time can be cut slightly shorter… but not sure how much as I don’t have a 3 QT.
Would I soak the oxtail for more than or less than 1 hour?
Hi Ling! Roughly 1 hour would be great. I think if it was 30 minutes, probably not enough, but better to soak than completely skipping it.
Re:
“Once boiling, turn down the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, skimming foam on the surface frequently. After 10-15 minutes, take out the oxtail.”
Does that mean:
1. “Once boiling, turn down the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, skimming foam on the surface frequently. Take out the oxtail at the end of the 10-15 minutes.”
OR
2. “Once boiling, turn down the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, skimming foam on the surface frequently. After an additional 10-15 minutes, take out the oxtail.”
Thank you for clarifying this, so I don’t either under-boil or over-boil the oxtail.
Thank you for your recipe !
Hi DC! Sorry for my unclear English. It means 10-15 of simmering ONLY. Not additional. I’ll change the sentences somehow so it’s not confusing. 🙂
I am looking forward to trying this. My husband is HUGE fan of oxtail soup. I’m not —
my mother made an oxtail stew which I loved, but the soup… not so much. Here in Hawaii, oxtail soup is very popular and is always served with lots of grated ginger, cilantro, and often peanuts. A vast majority of Hawaii people travel to Las Vegas for vacations. (Which is why Las Vegas is referred to as the 9th Island…) The Market Street Cafe in the California Hotel caters to Hawaii people, and oxtail soup is one of their specialties. Maybe you and Mr. JOC would like to try it out the next time you are in Vegas.
Hi Debbie! I had no idea that so many people travel to Vegas from Hawaii…how come? Hawaii has beach, city…everything… maybe no gamble? 😀 Now I know why Honolulu Cookie branch is in Las Vegas. I always wondered why in Vegas! 🙂 Thank you for sharing how Oxtail Soup is served in Hawaii. I did not know that. I really need to visit Hawaii again… it’s been over 20 years!
Thanks for sharing this recipe. It’s awesome. Reminds me of Chinatown and Hong Kong cafes when eating this. I’d substitute grape jelly in lieu of the sugar. Throw in some slice avocado and serve with some wonton noodles or french bread. Thanks again.
Mr. JOC misses this dish he enjoyed at HK cafes too. Hope you enjoy this dish as much as we do. 🙂
I prepared it, its easy and delicious !
I’m so happy to hear you liked it. Thank you Enrique!