hong kong borscht with oxtail and tomato

Hong Kong-style Borscht

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In many cha chaan teng (Hong Kong-style restaurants), Hong Kong-style Borscht (港式羅宋湯) is a popular starter. It’s sweet and sour with a tomato-based broth, tender beef and a bunch of hearty vegetables. It is served with rice or bread, and tastes the best when served the next day.

ingredients:

*this soup serves 6-8 people! 🙂

  • 500g oxtail 
  • 500g beef shin
  • 200g cabbage
  • 3 stalks celery
  • 3 tomatoes (1 tomato diced, 2 chopped in wedges)
  • 2 red potatoes
  • 1 large carrot
  • 1.5L water or chicken stock

Aromatics:

  • 5 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed 
  • 5 slices ginger
  • 1 red onion

Seasoning:

  • 1/4 cup tomato paste
  • 2-3 bay leaves
  • 2 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp oregano 
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper

steps:

  1. Prepare your ingredients. Put your aromatics in one bowl (sliced ginger, crushed garlic cloves, chopped red onion). Put chopped vegetables in another separate large bowl (carrots, potato, tomato, celery, cabbage). 
  2. Chop beef shin into large chunks. Put the beef shin and oxtail in a pot of cold water and boil for 5 minutes until scum and foam appears. Drain and set aside.
  3. Using the sauté function of the pressure cooker, sear all sides of the beef shin and oxtail until golden brown. This gives the soup extra flavour. Then remove and set aside. 
  4. Add tomato paste into the pot and cook for 2-3 minutes until the colour turns deeper red. This brings out the flavours of the tomato paste. Then add your aromatics (garlic, ginger, onion) and diced tomatoes, and sauté for 1-2 minutes until fragrant. 
  5. Throw in all the chopped vegetables and beef into the pot. Add water (or chicken broth), oregano, black pepper and bay leaves. Pressure cook for 45 minutes and let the pot natural release. 
  6. Once it’s done cooking, give the soup a taste before adding salt and sugar to taste. Serve and enjoy while hot! 

what meat should I use?

Beef is normally used for Hong Kong-style borscht, but if you prefer other types of meat, you can definitely substitute with pork spare ribs or chicken thighs as well.

For this recipe, I used oxtail and beef shin (shank) because it’s super rich and flavourful, and the meat is extra succulent and tender. You can use one or the other, but I just wanted to use both. You can also use other beef cuts such as beef short-ribs or beef brisket.

tips:

  1. PLEASE pre-boil the beef before adding it to the soup! Make sure to boil the beef in water for 4-5 minutes to remove the impurities. Removing the scum and foam will definitely ensure that the the final broth is clear, clean and tastes good.
  2. Sauté the tomato paste for a minute until the colours turn deep red. This helps to intensify its flavour and remove any raw taste.
  3. Let the soup rest in the fridge overnight before serving. The meat becomes even more tender and the soup would be extra flavourful.

check out more soup recipes!

Hong Kong-style Borscht (港式羅宋湯)
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Hong Kong-style Borscht (港式羅宋湯)

Course: Appetizers, MainCuisine: Cantonese
Servings

6-8

servings
Prep time

10

minutes
Cooking time

45

minutes
Cook Mode

Keep the screen of your device on

Ingredients

  • 500 g oxtail

  • 500 g beef shin

  • 200 g cabbage

  • 3 stalks celery

  • 3 tomatoes (1 tomato diced, 2 chopped in wedges)

  • 2 red potatoes

  • 1 large carrot

  • 1.5 L water or chicken stock

  • aromatics:

  • 5 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

  • 5 slices ginger

  • 1 red onion

  • seasoning:

  • 1/4 cup tomato paste

  • 2 -3 bay leaves

  • 2 tsp sugar

  • 1 tsp salt

  • 1/2 tsp oregano

  • 1/4 tsp black pepper

Directions

  • Prepare your ingredients. Put your aromatics in one bowl (sliced ginger, crushed garlic cloves, chopped red onion). Put chopped vegetables in another separate large bowl (carrots, potato, tomato, celery, cabbage).
  • Chop beef shin into large chunks. Put the beef shin and oxtail in a pot of cold water and boil for 5 minutes until scum and foam appears. Drain and set aside.
  • Using the sauté function of the pressure cooker, sear all sides of the beef shin and oxtail until golden brown. This gives the soup extra flavour. Then remove and set aside.
  • Add tomato paste into the pot and cook for 2-3 minutes until the colour turns deeper red. This brings out the flavours of the tomato paste. Then add your aromatics (garlic, ginger, onion) and diced tomatoes, and sauté for 1-2 minutes until fragrant.
  • Throw in all the chopped vegetables and beef into the pot. Add water (or chicken broth), oregano, black pepper and bay leaves. Pressure cook for 45 minutes and let the pot natural release.
  • Once it’s done cooking, give the soup a taste before adding salt and sugar to taste. Serve and enjoy while hot!

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