By now my recipe style should be evident. Salads and vegetables lean towards Middle Eastern flavours, desserts have a south African flavour and meat is always paired with beautiful fragrances of Star Anise (my favourite spice), ginger and bold sauces which compliment rich meat dishes like Oyster, black bean, Teriyaki or Hoisin.

Here, the beans are left in the Middle Eastern section and whole black garlic is added so that a few lucky ones get to bite into a whole clove of umami.

Serves 10

Ingredients:

• 4-4.5 kg oxtail
• 1 whole black garlic bulb-cloves removed
• 2 tablespoons cumin seeds
• 2 tablespoons 5 spice powder
• 1 large knob ginger, grated
• 3 x 200ml bottles of Lee Kum Kee oyster sauce
• ¾  cup soy sauce
• 1 cup medium cream sherry
• 4 star anise
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 3 cups of fresh orange juice
• Grated zest of 2 oranges
• 1 packet baby onions (about 8-10)
• Water as needed

Instructions

1. Rinse the oxtail, then soak the oxtail in water for 1-2 hours. Drain well.
2. Place the oxtail in a large pot
3. Mix all the ingredients except the onions and pour over oxtail.
4. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat on the stove and simmer covered for 2 hours.
5. Add the onions and cook for another 1-2 hours or until the oxtail is tender, adding water if necessary.

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