If you are pre-salting the oxtail:

1-3 days before cooking, rinse the oxtails in cool water. Pat dry thoroughly with paper towel and place in ceramic or glass dish. I use Maldon sea salt, which is a large-crystal salt. If you are using a finer crystal salt, use about half the amount I do, or the meat will be oversalted. I use a teaspoon of salt per pound of meat, lightly rubbing the salt all over, then covering the meat loosely with foil and refrigerating.

Allow meat to come to room temperature before cooking.

Preheat the oven to 300F.

You’ll need a 4-quart braiser with a lid or the equivalent. If you don’t have a lidded pot, you can cover an oven-safe pot with foil.

Browning the oxtails:

I prefer to brown the meat in a frying pan and move it to the braiser; if your braiser has a sturdy bottom, go ahead and brown in it.

Pour about 1 tablespoon peanut or canola oil in a 10-12 inch frying pan or the braiser. Heat burner to medium high. Add the oxtails; you may need to do this in batches. Brown on all surfaces, cooking 5-7 minutes per side. Watch the heat: you may need to adjust it to avoid burning. If the oil smokes, open a window or turn on the exhaust fan.

I set my braising pot on a burner beside the frying pan, pour in a little peanut oil, on turn the burner on the lowest setting. As each oxtail is browned, set it on a plate–if you are braising in a braiser–or move it from frying pan to braising pot.

Once all the oxtails are browned, pour off any extra fat.

Deglaze the pan or braiser by adding the Shaoxing wine, bringing it to a boil, and scraping with a spatula. This step is the reason I prefer browning in a frying pan–I can scrape without worrying about damaging an enameled surface.

Scrape up all the brown bits from the pan bottom, then add the soy sauce, sugar, water, star anise, ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes, and rice vinegar to the pan. Bring to a simmer.  If you are doing this in a frying pan, carefully pour this over your oxtails.

If you are doing this in your braiser, return the oxtails to the pot.

Season the oxtails with salt and pepper, cover with a lid or foil and place in the oven.

It will look like there’s too much liquid. Don’t worry: it will cook down considerably.

After 90 minutes, turn the oxtails over. Cook another 90 minutes, until meat is tender. They’re done when the bones are poking through and braising liquid has reduced and darkened.

It is best to let the dish cool completely, then rest at least overnight, allowing the fat to congeal and be lifted off the top.

To serve: Reheat gently. Offer sliced oranges at the table, or season with fresh orange juice yourself. Serve with rice and plain green salad.

Oxtail improves with time, but don’t keep it refrigerated beyond five days. Freeze, well-wrapped, up to 3 months.

Notes:

If you cannot find Shaoxing wine–sold near soy sauces in regular supermarkets or widely available in Asian markets–use dry sherry.

Palm sugar is available in some supermarkets, Asian markets, and online. It is sold in tubes or rounded cones. Palm sugar is easily broken with a knife and dissolves in cooking. Substitute brown sugar if you can’t find it.

The red pepper is a subtle presence, meant for umami only; leave it out if you wish.

If you don’t have rice vinegar, orange juice or peel works beautifully.