African Spicy Oxtail Stew – rich, flavorful, spicy stew with fall-off the bones tender oxtail meat that is ready to wet your appetite. Best paired with rice, plantains, and yams. Insanely delicious!
This weekend was a very hectic one for me – attended a super fun workshop, took my son to Disneyland and was left with very little energy and big appetite. I love to cook, grocery shopping…. not so much. So I turned to my overflowing pantry and fridge, to see if I can whip up something simple yet delicious. African stew is an obvious choice because it is an easy recipe to make and the ingredients are already in your pantry and fridge
African stews have a clear distinction from “soups” in Africa. They are thick require a longer cooking time over medium heat and always have a strong tomato presence – tomato sauce, paste, puree or combination of both or all . It is made with meat, fish, chicken or vegetarian. Though I have not come across any vegetarian stew, some people make it without protein.
There are many variations of stew, as there are cooks in Africa each with its own unique flavor or blend. The meat or protein is boiled until tender, and then simmered slowly for two main reasons; to bring out the flavors in the tomatoes and reduce the signature tang found in tomatoes sauce. A good African stew is one that has been stripped off its tang or acidic taste.
In this recipe, I use tomatoes, onions, bell pepper, fresh thyme, curry powder and my favorite tough cut of meat- oxtail. Although, they are overlooked by everyone, it is such a flavorful cut of meat. After boiling the meat, you will have a thin layer of oil that will come to the top of the stock. You can use a spoon to remove the thin layer of fatty oil, or better yet boil the oxtail a day in advance, refrigerate gently remove the layer of fat.
Most people cook their meat until it falls off the bone. To me, sucking and nibbling the bones is part of the fun of eating oxtail. So it stays on.
This soup is delicious with all kinds of starches like rice, plantains, and yams.
African Spicy Oxtail Stew
Ingredients
- 4 pound or (1.8 kg) oxtail
- 1 medium onion chopped (divided)
- 2 clove garlic minced
- 8 ounce or (1 can) tomato sauce
- 2 tablespoon tomato paste
- 1 sprig thyme (or 1 teaspoon thyme)
- 1 teaspoon curry
- 1 green bell pepper
- 2 green onions
- 1 maggi (or 1 tablespoon bouillon powder)
- 1 habenara pepper optional
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Boil oxtail with salt, pepper and some chopped onions in a medium pot until tender. It will take approximately 40 to 45 minutes. I used pressure cooker to shorten the process. Reserve the stock for later use. Remove fatty oil if desired
- Add ½ cup oil to the pot/pan and fry the oxtail for about 5 minutes.
- Then, add in the rest of the onion and chopped garlic,continue frying the meat 1- 2 minutes. Be careful not to let the garlic burn
- Next add tomato sauce, tomato paste, curry and fresh thyme . Stir the pot frequently to prevent the sauce from sticking to the pot
- Add in about 2 cups of reserved stock and season with salt and bouillon to taste. Bring to a boil and let it simmer for about 30-40 minutes. Stir occasionally adding water as needed.
- Finally add in green onions and green pepper. Adjust seasoning, soup consistency with water/stock and salt.
- Serve warm with desired side dish.
Nutrition Information:
Rissa H says
Also, im very confused about the ammount of tomato sauce/puree to use. I’ve never seen a 3.8oz can of tomato sauce. Is this a mistake? How many grams is it? Or what size tin if using tinned tomato? Thank you!!
Imma says
Hi Rissa. Sorry typo :). Use an 8oz can of tomato sauce. Happy cooking!
Rissa H says
In the pictures it looks like you add red onion after the garlic, but it doesn’t say anything about that in the recipe…can you clarify?
Imma says
Hello Rissa. Some of the chopped onion is added when cooking the oxtail and the rest is added with the garlic when frying the oxtail.
Princess says
This recipe was superb. Can’t believe I made it tasted like it was from a restaurant. Thank you
Imma says
Thank you so much for your feedback. I’m super happy you enjoyed it:)