We’ve mentioned that we prepare a soup broth every weekend and have soup as the first course of dinner most days of the following week.
But we haven’t mentioned that it’s possible to have a slightly different soup every night of the week. Here’s how.
The Broth
One of our favorite broths is a beef broth soup made from ox feet. First, find an Asian supermarket and buy some ox feet:
The ox feet will have been sawed so that collagen and sinews are exposed and can dissolve in the broth.
The longer you cook it, the more nutritious the broth gets. Here’s what it looks like after 3 hours:
There’s some fat on the top, which is delicious! You can also add some dried anchovy to the broth — say 10 anchovies per gallon — which we think improves the flavor.
When you eat the soup, be sure to eat the gelatin off the cooked ox feet. According to Ray Peat, this is very good for you.
The broth can serve as the base for a wide range of soups. Here are some of the ones we make.
Miso Soup
Miso is a classic Japanese soup. To make it, you’ll need Wakame seaweed and miso paste. The Wakame seaweed can be purchased at Amazon.com (see our supplement page).
Wakame seaweed expands about five-fold in water, so use the dried seaweed judiciously. Set some aside to soak and expand in water:
Here we’ve also put some kelp (kombu) in the water. That’s the brownish square on the right. Kelp is much less tasty than wakame, but has more iodine.
Put some of the ox feet broth with a few ox feet in a smaller pot for the evening’s soup. Here the broth includes some dried anchovies:
Put aside a small amount of the broth in a bowl and dissolve the miso paste in the broth. Make sure it is thoroughly mixed before returning it to the pot:
After the seaweed has expanded, add it to the soup and cook for half an hour. When it’s nearly done, add miso paste and scallions and cook another 5 minutes. It’s now ready to eat:
Other Choices
You can add any other ingredients you like to the broth to make soups of different flavors.
Here we’ve added diced potato, shiitake mushrooms, and scallions:
Here we’ve added egg, tomato, and scallion:
Here we’ve added sliced ribeye beef, enoki mushrooms, and cilantro. Since thin-sliced beef and enoki mushrooms cook very quickly, you can treat this like a Vietnamese “pho” and simply put the beef and mushrooms in a bowl and pour the hot broth over them:
The making of the broth is the only time-consuming part of this. After the broth is prepared on the weekend, new soups can be prepared in 15-30 minutes. Season each soup with salt, pepper, and your favorite spices.
via this link:
Just a warning on the miso, check the ingredients. Most is fermented soybean, but some is fermented barley. I have seen one cheap “instant” miso soup package that had wheat gluten as an ingredient.
Thanks, John. Yes, have to be careful! We use one derived from rice and soy. Good quality miso is fermented for a month or more, so the toxin levels should be low and vitamin levels high.
I LOVE good, nutritious soups! I’ve been making ox tail soup about once a week during the cooler winter months. Lot’s of gelatin and yummy fat!
Don’t forget fresh garlic with the miso.
Garlic pairs really well with white miso…you don’t see the combo often though.
I like to add a bit of coconut milk and red curry paste to my bone broths.
Marc
I’ve got bison bone broth simmering right now, using bison oxtail and meaty bones from my freezer. I’ll be consuming even more bone broth than usual for a while, while my collar bone heals (I broke it last week when I landed HARD on my outer shoulder in an icy parking lot while walking in the late afternoon in clunky plastic alpine ski boots – thankfully my ski helmet absorbed the impact for my head). Fairly easy for me to make bone broth in my crockpot even while one arm is restrained in a sling, and easy to eat, too, though with my clumsier hand. wish left handed typing was easy. 😉
Very sorry to hear about the fracture, Anna! Get well soon! And don’t forget the D/K2/magnesium/C …
Best, Paul
@ Aaron
I am looking for a good recipe for oxtail soup. Can you add it to the recipe thread? Thanks!
Hi Erich,
We sometimes make the same soup above but with oxtail instead of ox feet.
Also, we often make a seaweed soup without any miso paste. This is how it is usually done in Korea. It tastes great that way.
Best, Paul
@Erich,
As Paul said, my recipe is basically the same. Lately, I’ve been doing the following in the crock pot: 4-6 oxtails (I try to use grass-fed, but that’s not always an option) or a few shank bones with a lot of surrounding meat, a few big carrots cut into 2-inch sections then sliced in half lengthwise, half a large yellow onion or a whole small one (diced but not too small), and a stalk of celery cut into 1/2 inch pieces (including the leaves). I throw it all in the crock pot and cover with water. Then I add some salt, pepper, and a few pieces of kombu (seaweed) cut into 1-inch strips (it’s great for minerals and additional flavoring). I usually throw it together in the morning and let it cook on the low setting all day. Sometimes it’s not quite done (meat not falling off the bone or falling apart with a fork) at the end of the day so I let it cook on low overnight, then leave it on the warm setting all day. By 36-48 hours, it’s the most delicious stuff you’ve ever tasted! I keep the pot in the fridge and scoop out big spoonfuls of the thick, concealed soup as a base for other soups, or I just scoop some into a big bowl, add another cup of water and microwave it for a couple of minutes. Very nourishing food and so easy to make!
@ Paul – Thanks for the response. Again, I love the site (first thing I read in the morning) and the book (read it twice cover to cover and skim through it on the train every morning to work).
@ Aaron – Sounds great. I gotta try it!
How long does the soup last in the fridge? Only 4-5 days? I am thinking I should make it all weekend and eat it for lunch through the week (as Paul does).
Hi Erich,
I think a week should be safe, but you can reboil the broth after 4 days or so if you’re nervous. If you make the broth with only meat, not carbs/plants, then bacteria won’t have much food. Also, each night’s soup gets cooked, so that should kill most bacteria.
Discard the broth if it has strange smells or foamy scum on top.
It’s important to make sure the pot has no bacteria before you start making the broth. To kill bacteria the pot has to be thoroughly dry. So if you make soup every weekend and it lasts a week, you might rotate between two pots.
Best, Paul
Hi Paul,
Great article! The Ray Peat article you link to – what are your thoughts on gelatin supplementation for digestive issues? Ray makes is sound like a no brainier but if it was it seems there would be more available research on it.
Obviously whole food gelatin supplementation through bone broths would be best (and you use this daily), but it given the option of say a packet of Knox gelatin a day or nothing is it wise to add into your diet?
Thanks for all your hard work!
Steve
Steve
Hi Steve,
I would support eating it, just on the principle of “eat what you are”. All tissue is constantly being degraded and rebuilt, and fascia + connective tissue made of collagen are a major part of the body, so it stands to reason that eating only muscle meats will leave us malnourished in the components of collagen. And collagen supplements seem to help in some diseases, so that’s supporting evidence for eating it.
I don’t see how it could harm, except by raising overall protein intake excessively. But perhaps a “protein cycling” strategy would remove even that concern.
Best, Paul
I read a lot of oxtail recipes that require skimming the fat off the top of the soup. Is that necessary or is that just standard fatphobia from non-believers? Seems like you’d be losing some great nutrition there. Thanks
Hi Erich,
No, it’s not necessary. If it’s fat I would keep it; if there’s foamy scum I would skim it off.
This reminds me of Japanese tonkotsu, milled bone soup. I never tried it while I was there; I was a little scared to (both from the contents and the high fat). Luckily, I will be going back to Japan for half a year during studies!
Better get my hands on some miso as well…
Hi Paul,
I’ve made about 4 quarts broth from about 1.5 pounds of cow feet and it’s turned to a gel-like consistency after being in the fridge. Seems like quite a lot to eat in a week. About how many fluid ounces per day/week should I eat?
Thanks!
Mark
Hi Mark,
Great! That’s the consistency you want.
We eat 1-2 bowls a day. But we have 3 people to help finish in a week.
In traditional Chinese cuisine, broth soups were treated as a beverage. You didn’t drink water during meals, you drank bone broth.
I think it won’t do you any harm to eat or drink a lot, so it’s mainly a matter of taste how much you want to take. I’m not sure at what dose the benefits would be fully achieved.
Hi Paul,
I recently made broth from beef soup bones (marrow in the middle) and it has not congealed after being in the fridge for a few days. Did I do something wrong in the process, or is this because the soup bones maybe didn’t have much collagen to begin with? Thanks so much, I really enjoy your blog.
Stephanie
Well, I have made so many different soups.
Maybe, you did not slow cook it long enough with all of the fat that is required.
I just made a fantastic beef rib soup. I did not add starch or any emulsifier.
Just the beef,onions celery and spices. I did this in my slow cooker..Cooked it long. It congealed perfectly!
I think all of us trying to maintain our health need to stop being so fat phobic.
If u absolutely hate fat–skim it after the congealing process is over.
After cooking I always cool mine in the fridge for a day..It’s like jelly! My dog and I are so happy!!
Hi Stephanie,
I would guess it was a lack of collagen and joint material. Just the bones alone won’t release much collagen.
I wouldn’t worry as long as it tastes good. As Judy says, the longer you cook it the more nutrients you may extract and the richer the broth. But the nature of the bones may make a big difference, and everybody’s source is a little different.
Maybe vinegar would help … Stephan Guyenet offers …
http://wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2008/03/real-food-i-soup-stock.html
“In my opinion, the best stock is made with animal bones. It’s rich in minerals and gelatin, and has a full, meaty flavor. Break the bones to expose the marrow, put them in a pot full of water or a crockpot, add 2 tablespoons vinegar, and simmer for 1-20 hours. Add vegetable scraps for the last hour, then strain. Large bones from beef or lamb require long cooking to draw out their full flavor, while thinner chicken bones and fish parts require less. The vinegar helps draw the minerals out of the bones into solution.”
Mark
When you make broth, sometimes the broth will congeal, sometimes it doesn’t. It’s nothing to worry about; it’s not that you’ve done anything wrong. It’s the result of using natural ingredients, so the result isn’t consistent like you’d get with factory-produced foods. It depends on the amount of fat and gelatin in the bones. Next time use neck or back bones, maybe some ribs or ox feet and then it might congeal. But there’s no problem if it doesn’t. Paul’s right, if it tastes good, just enjoy it.
sounds yummy & simple!
i normally use miso in marinading meat & fish.
i should try soup sometimes
the miso from a nearby Japanese grocery miso says:
“non-GMO organic soy, rice, water salt”
“no preservative, no MSG & unpasteurized”
if it’s unpasteurized, wouldn’t it be better not to boil it?
cheers,
pam
Hi Pam,
Good question. It might be better to heat it just short of boiling … thus avoiding killing off the bacteria.
A lot of Internet sites do recommend not boiling miso: http://www.google.com/search?q=miso+boiling
Best, Paul
Dear Guys,
Ordered you book and I am so eagerly anticipating it!
I did go on your website and I am desperately trying to incorporate your suggestions.
I want to thank you for the supplements:
I was experiencing numbness in my hand and now that I am eating the diet and incorporating the supplements I am thrilled! Prior to this I was taking so many supplements and nothing helped.!
My last lipids were not good except the HDL was high-I cannot relinquish to statins or Zetia..
The desserts you have are ok–Anything else new??
I did try the creme Brulee–I loved it, hubby didn’t.
I am 5’2 and I did gain a few pounds on this diet primarily because of all of the fat.I am now 118 lbs.
I feel better.
Asian people are genetically capable of being very slender as long as they follow their metabolic diet.
I did read where you specifically mention that obese people should stay on your diet and cut down on fats..
I am in hog heaven eating like this. I do need to drop at least 3-4 lbs to feel comfortable. I stopped Jay Robbs “Whey Protein”.
I would love to know if this diet helps dry skin and premature aging.. Can’t wait to get your book.
Next, what would be appreciated from both of you is the skin care regime of mature women.
That would be awesome and save us $$$$$.
Thanks,
Judy C.
Hi Judy,
Welcome! I’m glad your numbness is gone.
We’ll work on some new desserts but the upcoming foods are going to be classic American foods — French fries, maybe chocolate chip cookies, maybe pizza.
Yes, I think if you cut down the fats a bit, but stay focused on nutrition, you’ll have no trouble controlling weight. Mature women tend to have pretty low calorie needs.
I do think our diet is good for dry skin and premature aging. Usually causes of dry, aged skin are either poor nutrition (often too many polyunsaturated fats, too few fat soluble vitamins, insufficient minerals) or chronic infections, many of which cause immune activity in the skin. Our diet should fix the first and improve the second.
A skin care regimen will be some time in the future, but thanks for the suggestion! I’ll put it on my research list for the blog.
Best, Paul
Thank you,
I am trying to fast from morning until 2P using water and non-caloric beverages. I am taking coconut oil too. That helps me from becoming ravenous!
Would I benefit from beef tallow oil even if I am trying to lose a few pounds??
Love the taste. I have been deprived of fats for sooo long!
Managed to stay 115 lbs at 5’2 but always felt cold and fatigued.Thyroid and other tests were normal.
I am regaining my health and I thank you both!
I would rather spend my hard earned money on being healthy then give it to Pharma’s and Md’S..
Yeah–I know doctors go to school for over 12 years and spend a fortune on education,however does that mean I should suffer because they lack the nutritional guidance or savvy to pursue medicine that is deleterious and has harmful side effects?
This is not political. I do not drink or smoke. I exercise and try to eat as healthy as possible.I am not against doctors and believe me if I was in an accident and needed 911 or trauma ER I would gladly accept it.
I am so done with the beaucracy of many medical guru’s who are mandated to take one nutritional course throughout their entire career.What gives with that?? When I mention anything to do with alternative medicine they look at me like I am an alien from outer space!!LOL-
Dr. Oz, is making steps but believe me I don’t feel he is any more astute then me when it comes to nutrition. I have spent many years perusing medical and nutritional articles.I wish I could recover the money spent on newsletters and books.(BTW-I checked out Mr. Taubes book and viewed his interview with Dr. Oz.)It is not wrong if it works for people but I must admit extrememly low carb never worked for me.
And if it never worked for most people–drinking a cup of bouillon to replace sodium???That was his synopsis on the fatigue that many people experience with a low carb. diet. Well, that didn’t work for me.
I have spent time and money-I lived in NYC and went to the best of the best..I had IV therapy,vitamins and diets prescribed and nothing really did it..
I want to tell you both that this is the best I have felt in years!!
I don’t want to ever be over weight…I am not anorexic but like to feel slim and trim!I want natural energy!
I am looking forward to both of you guiding me to health and slimness..
Thank you for allowing me to vent and express my opinions and I hope others are encountering the benefits I have been experiencing!
Sincerely,
Judy Cervizzi
Hi, Paul,
i made spare rib soup (w/ vinegar + wine)+ lotus root + coix. (coix had been fermented)
then following you by throwing in some (dry mixed) sea vegetables.
i didn’t bother boiling miso & just mixed some after i scooped it in a bow.
pretty good.
thanks.
kind regards,
Hi, Paul – I haven’t read all the comments and did you ever post a index for your book..BUT, are you using the miso for its probiotic value? And, if you are, isn’t the microbiology destroyed by the lengthy cooking? I think the Macrobiotic people just stir the miso in at the end of cooking the soup, or am I out to lunch here? If you are taking the miso as a probiotic, is it good to use a variety of of misos over time to maximize the probiotic variety, or are they all ‘pretty much’ the same?
Hi Allan,
Yes, there’s an index: http://perfecthealthdiet.com/?page_id=1628. I haven’t announced it yet however.
We use the miso for taste, so pasteurized or cooked miso is OK. But nothing wrong with probiotic miso.
Awesome on the index, Paul. Do you know anything about probiotic miso? Are you ONLY using it as a flavor? Not as a nutrient whatsoever? I know NATTO has some good probiotics, I’m just wondering if having miso daily is as good of plan as having fermented cabbage daily. (I’m lazy and miso is EASY!) Thanks again, Paul! -Allan
Hi Allan,
I’m afraid I don’t know how valuable miso is as a probiotic. We really like our fermented radish!
I love ‘pickled daikon,’ too! Do you make your own? Here’s a link to some info on probiotic Asian foods:
http://theconsciouslife.com/top-probiotic-foods.htm
turns out that miso, if not overcooked, has B12, which, I guess, ain’t that important if you’re eating meat.
They also say Tempeh has some good probiotics and that the microbes in tempeh can withstand cooking!
Sorry, to say, I haven’t consulted the PHD index before I ask this, but what do you think about tempeh as an occasional food? “Supposedly,” all those bean anti-nutrients are reduced by the fermentation process.
I’m just mentioning this because when I went to Dr Mercola’s site to see you interview I got a double dose of GAPS diet videos and so I am obsessed once again with maximizing the variety of the flora in my gut.
Thanks, Paul
-Allan
Re Miso: Note that it is fermented on a fungus:
“Miso is produced by fermenting soybean, barley, brown rice, or other grains with a type of fungus known as koji (aspergillus oryzae) in Japan.” (From Allan’s Link above)
So while definitely a healthy food for many, perhaps not so good for those of us with fungal issues?
Hello Perfecthealthdiet,
I just stumbled across this and, Soup is such a great meal. Depending on the soup; its nutritious, it satisfies your appetite and it gives you that ‘hug’ feeling!
Wishes
A question for Paul or anyone else re: broth:
I made broth from oxfeet this past weekend. There was a lot of chunks of fat in the broth after 24 hours, which I don’t care for, so I strained it and put it in the fridge. In the morning, after peeling off a layer of white fat, I found that I had perfect gelatin. Success after 5 or 6 tries! Does anyone know how long gelatin from homemade broth keeps in the fridge? Also, what is a normal serving? I took probably a 1/3 cup and dissolved it in the more-watery broth from the second round. Tasted great and I plan to have some every day, but I am wondering if more gelatin a day is ideal.
I would love your recipe for Korean seaweed soup. I live in Korea and my wife is Korean, so I think it would make my wife happy if I could make that for her. She’s been much happier on this diet so far than she was on my earlier (and inferior) diets. I have no idea where to buy bones here even though a lot of restaurants make soups with bone broths… (I know you don’t live in Korea, but since Mrs. Jaminet grew up here, if you happen to know where I should look, I’d love a tip.) Anyway, thanks for everything!
Hi Galen,
Shou-Ching says that when she was there every market had a butcher shop and if you speak to the butcher they would be able to provide you with bones.
Things may have changed but I would suspect if you look around you could find a butcher who can help.
Thank you so much. It’s still true, and I successfully found bones and fat today. I can’t believe how expensive a cow’s shinbone and hoof are, though! Just for that, it was up to $62 (US)! I’m very excited to have the broth. My first batch is starting right now. 😀
I should add that I got one for about $14, so you know I’m not a sucker. 🙂
Hi Galen,
My wife wonders if you were overcharged because you are American. We wonder if your wife would be able to bargain for a better price.
I don’t think so. The prices were all marked and non-negotiable. I think they’re just expensive because everything from Korean cattle is expensive because they’re marketed as being ‘better’ than imported beef. Anyway, I let my wife do all the talking for me. 🙂
I have a Vietnamese market nearby that probably sells the Ox-feet but they are probably not organic. Is that something I should worry about? Thanks!
As long as the animals are not feeding on polluted food or water, they should be fine.
There is a Latin market, Bravo, in Bradenton FL where I live. They have an awesome selection of bones, ox feet, offal, beef and goat heads, all parts of the pig and so on. And it’s CHEAP; primal paradise. I love shopping there. The broth I’m making this week is from pork neck bones and chicken feet. 😀
I’ve been making broth in my pressure cooker (I don’t think my vegetarian boyfriend would be down with slow cooking “weird” animal parts for hours on end) and it’s delicious. The only thing is that I’ve never gotten it to congeal in the fridge. I know the type of bones can make a big difference, but do you think the pressure cooker is unable to extract important nutrients? I’d love to do the slow-cook method but just don’t see it in the cards for now.
I have had lots of success using a pressure cooker and the gelatin is usually always good. I am curious what Paul would say about the extraction process’ integrity in a pressure cooker. I am more curious what type of and what quantity of bones you use?
how long should I simmer the bones? If I simmered for 36 hours would the nutrient level increase significantly enough to make it worth the additional time?
We simmer for 3 hours normally. We typically will 4-5 rounds with each set of bones; by the end they are about half their normal weight. You don’t need super long simmering times to get the nutrients out, and long cooking can degrade protein.
Hi Paul,
I am loving your website, I bought your book last week and have really enjoyed it. A couple of questions, I have candida, fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue,with having candida is all the starch ok, because I have been told not to eat sugar and I thought that starch turned straight to sugar in the body once eaten. Also I need to lose 20kg of weight but I am really enjoying the fat as it is helping tremendously with the sugar cravings. I have been low carb for a while but the sugar cravings got so bad and also always hungry, or eating. I know you say if you need to lose weight, cut the fat back and let my own body burns it’s fat, which I want to do but feel I need it at the moment to curb cravings, I don’t know what to do I need to lose this weight but I want to be healthy also. I would love to hear back from you.
Kind Regards.
Paul,
I’m also interested in knowing if cooking the bones in a pressure cooker would make a difference in nutrition or would a slow cooker be best. As for time longer cooking times breaking down the protiens is that true in a slow cooker process or just stove top? Also what about roasting the bones before hand for added flavor?
bump
+1 for pressure cooker?
I bought some ox feet from an asia store, but the feet still had skin on them. I have no idea what to do with that. After about 4 hours of simmering, i just cut away the skin, and i put it in the freezer. Maybe it still has some use? Or should i throw it away?