Borscht Soup (羅 宋 湯)

I grew up on this comfort soup so I'm happy to recreate this recipe after my cousin Carol reminded me of it. For whatever reason, this Ukrainian soup was wildly popular in Hong Kong, so my recipe is likely not the traditional way to make the soup but it is delicious nonetheless.

Before...

and After!

Borscht Soup (羅 宋 湯)

Ingredients:
oxtails - 2 lbs (can substitute with other cuts such as brisket or shin)
onion - 1 large, yellow
celery - 3 to 10 stalks
cabbage - 1 large, green or red
tomato - 2 to 4
tomato paste - 1 can 

Optional: carrots, potatoes or any other veggies; red pepper flakes to serve

Directions:
1. In a medium size pot, blanche oxtail in water. Separately, boil water in a large soup pot.
2. When water boils, add oxtail to the large pot. Boil on low heat for at least an hour, preferably longer.
3. Quarter the onion and clean off tops of celery stalks. Add to the broth. Remove in about 30 to 40 minutes. Skim fat as you see fit, but I like to have fat in this soup.
4. Cut cabbage into 1 to 2 inch squares. Quarter tomatoes.
5. About an hour before you are reading to serve the soup, add cabbage, tomatoes and tomato paste. (Additionally, you can add carrots, potatoes or any other vegetables to the soup.) 
6. Season with salt and pepper to serve. (Optional: top with red chili flakes.)

Shimmering oxtail broth

After the soup has cooked for about 3 hours, I added the vegetables