Baked Oxtail Bao with Crack Sauce
- Jul 19, 2023
- 3 min read
Updated: Jan 28
Makes: 8
Prep Time: 1 hr Plus 2hr proofing
Cook time: 25 mins (Bao) plus 3hr Braising
Things you need:
Oxtail:
1.2kg Oxtail
1 Tbsp Olive oil
35g Sliced Ginger (no need to peel)
6 Cloves of garlic (no need to peel)
1.5 Sticks of lemongrass cut in half
4 Star anise
2 Bay leaf
90 ml Soy sauce
30 ml Rice wine vinegar
30 ml Sherry vinegar
2 Tbsp Maple syrup
400 ml Water
Salt to taste
White pepper. Few good grinds on the mill
Bao Dough:
120 ml Milk 2%
80 ml whipping cream
1 large egg
25g Sugar
35 g All purpose flour
6g Cornstarch
240g Bread flour
5.5g Instant yeast
4g Salt
Bao filling:
1 Tbsp Olive oil
1 Leek finely sliced
200g Mushrooms thinly sliced
180ml Stock from braised oxtail
1 Tsp cornstarch
350g Braised oxtail chopped
Splash Sherry vinegar
1 Tbsp Maple syrup
Salt & Pepper to taste
Crack Sauce:
See previous video recipe.
Steps:
Rub olive oil all over oxtail and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
Sear the oxtail all over to brown in dutch oven. Set aside. Drain 80% of the leftover fat and oil. Add ginger, garlic, lemongrass, bay leaves, and star anise. Season to taste. Cook for 1-2 mins. Add soy sauce, vinegars, and water. Return the oxtail to the pan, bring to a boil, cover, and braise in a preheated oven at 325 F - 162 C for 3 hours or until tender.
Remove the oxtail and pick through meat, removing any bristle, clumps of fat, or bones. Drain and reserve the cooking liquid. Refrigerate the meat and braising liquid until the fat solidifies on top. Scrape off once set. You’ll have a lovely meat jelly underneath. Add enough boiling water to make 180ml. Set aside.
Portion out 350g of the braised oxtail and roughly chop it up. Set aside.
Next, sauté mushrooms for 3-5 mins until most of the water has evaporated. Add leeks and cook for 1 min. Add the oxtail and cook for another minute until it breaks up with the heat. Add 1 tsp cornstarch to the braising stock and add it to the oxtail mixture.
Reduce everything to a sticky mixture, not too wet. Season to taste and add 1 tbsp maple syrup and a splash of sherry vinegar. Mix through and set aside to cool.
Add bao dough ingredients to a stand mixer and mix for 10-15 mins. Let it proof for 60-90 mins or until doubled.
Degas, flatten dough. Weigh and divide by 8 for each bao.
Roll the bao as shown in the video and fill each with 2-3 tbsp of oxtail filling. Weigh the filling and divide by 8 for precision. Seal the bao properly to prevent popping in the oven.
Place the buns on greased baking sheets, 3 inches apart. Cover with a tea towel for 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 400F - 204 C, After 1 hour, egg wash the buns and tuck them in to make them round. Place them in the oven and lower the temperature to 350F - 176 C. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
Cool the buns on a wire rack. Serve with crack sauce drizzled on top.
Tips:
Don’t be intimidated by the recipe. You can break it up into stages. Make the oxtail and fillings days in advance.
Can freeze the leftovers.
Use extra oxtail in pastas, pies.
Make sure your hands are not greasy when sealing the buns as the dough won’t stick
You can always reshape them after proofing, so don’t worry if they aren’t perfectly round.
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