Sweet and Sour Rabbit
Takeaway classic redone with rabbit and fresh ingredients…
Ingredients
- 400 ml chicken stock
- 4 rabbit legs or 1 whole rabbit jointed
- 1 vanilla pod split lengthways
- 2 cardamon pods
- 2 garlic cloves peeled
- 0.5 tsp coriander seeds
- 6 black peppercorns
- Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 150 ml malt vinegar
- 150 grams caster sugar
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 small fresh red chilli chopped
- 1 tbsp tamarind paste
- 1 tbsp ginger grated
- 4 star anise
- 0.5 pineapple skin, eyes and core removed, diced
- 1 fresh red chilli finely chopped, to serve
- 2 tsp coriander leaves finely chopped, to serve
- zest of 1 lime to serve
- rapeseed oil to fry
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/360°F/Gas mark 4
- Heat a good slug of rapeseed oil in a flameproof casserole dish, add the rabbit legs and cook until golden brown and sealed on all sides. Remove from the dish.
- Heat a good slug of rapeseed oil in a flameproof casserole dish, add the rabbit legs and cook until golden brown and sealed on all sides. Remove from the dish.
- Remove the legs from the dish and set aside. Strain the cooking liquid through a sieve into a saucepan and cook on the hob until reduced by half.
- To make the sauce, put the vinegar and sugar in a saucepan and heat over a medium heat to a light caramel colour. Add the soy sauce, chilli, ginger, tamarind paste, star anise and pineapple and cook for a further 2 minutes. Stir in the reduced rabbit stock and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Return the rabbit legs to the pan and turn them in the sauce to glaze. Season to taste. Lift the legs out, place onto a serving dish and pour over the sauce. Sprinkle with the chopped chilli and coriander and finish with the lime zest.
- Serve with steamed jasmine rice with toasted sesame seeds.
