Seolleongtang-Style Oxtail Soup

Seolleongtang-Style Oxtail Soup
(photo by JenniferW)

Seolleongtang (설렁탕) is a classic Korean soup known for its milky broth, slowly extracted from bones through hours of patient boiling. Mild, nourishing, and deeply comforting, it is traditionally seasoned at the table and enjoyed as a quiet, restorative meal. This oxtail version stays true to that spirit. Simple ingredients, gentle flavours, and time doing most of the work.

Ingredients

4 large oxtails
1/2 yellow onion
2 spring onions
Salt, to taste
2-3 litre of water (depending on size of the pot and the oxtails; use just enough to fully cover the oxtails)

Tip: Use as little water as needed to achieve a milky broth.

Optional:

Instead of oxtails, you can use:

beef leg bones (사골, sagol)
knee joints (도가니, dogani)
Beef bones (우골, u-gol)
Marrow bones (골수뼈, golsu ppyeo)

You can add these thin slices during simmering:

beef shank (사태, satae)
brisket (양지, yangji)

Method

Rinse the oxtails well and soak them in a large bowl or pot with alkaline or filtered water for at least 3 hours to remove excess blood. Discard the soaking water.
Add the oxtails to a pot and pour in about 3 litres of water, or enough to fully cover them. Bring to a rolling boil over high heat and cook for about 2 hours. Add about 250-500 ml of water whenever the oxtails are exposed.
Continue boiling vigorously until the broth becomes milky and opaque, a hallmark of traditional seolleongtang.
This soup is usually prepared a day in advance. After boiling the soup vigorously, let it cool completely, then store it in the refrigerator overnight.
The next day, remove and discard the layer of fat on the surface, then reheat the soup before adding the sliced onion and the white parts of the spring onions.
Reduce to medium heat and continue simmering until the oxtails are very tender.
Season with salt to taste and serve hot. Garnish with finely chopped green parts of the spring onions.

Chilled overnight, the fat solidifies and can be easily skimmed off (photo by JenniferW)

Simmering the soup (photo by JenniferW)

Seolleongtang-Style Beef/Oxtail Soup
(photo by JenniferW)

Serve this soup simply, with rice and small dish of salt on the side. Each spoonful carries the quiet richness that only time can create this humble, warming bowl meant to restore and nourish our body.

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