Braised Lamb Shanks With Mushrooms (Kaki Kambing)
Braised Lamb Shanks with Mushrooms (Kaki Kambing). A Western meal is often named for the pièce de résistance, the cut of meat or the fish or fowl that is featured in the main course, perhaps the sirloin steak, the prime rib, the roast chicken, the fish or perhaps the rack of lamb.
The rest of the meal is rather incidental – just something to whet the appetite, to complement the main highlight of the meal, or to provide contrast when the meat has been finished. This practice is not followed in the average Indonesian home.
There is no main course. All the food is served on one plate. Rice, which is our main feature sits nicely in the center. We do not have meat very often as well. The reason for this is simply that meat is expensive. Although Indonesians love meat, the price of meat is simply not for the average person.
When you see a large number of animals that wander around or are penned up in the average household backyard, you may wonder why they are not used for food. The answer is straightforward, these animals are much more valuable when used for other purposes.
The rest of the meal is rather incidental – just something to whet the appetite, to complement the main highlight of the meal, or to provide contrast when the meat has been finished. This practice is not followed in the average Indonesian home.
There is no main course. All the food is served on one plate. Rice, which is our main feature sits nicely in the center. We do not have meat very often as well. The reason for this is simply that meat is expensive. Although Indonesians love meat, the price of meat is simply not for the average person.
When you see a large number of animals that wander around or are penned up in the average household backyard, you may wonder why they are not used for food. The answer is straightforward, these animals are much more valuable when used for other purposes.
Braised Lamb Shanks with Mushrooms Ingredients
- 4 lamb shanks, whole and trimmed,
- 400-450 g each, brined for 12 hours
- 250 g spice blend for meats
- 4 Tbsp vegetable or coconut oil
- 1 Tbsp crushed cardamom seeds,
- 10 cloves, crushed
- 2 cinnamon sticks, 10-cm long
- 3 stalks lemongrass, bruised
- 3 kaffir lime leaves, bruised
- 500 ml chicken stock
- 250 ml of coconut cream
- 100 g shiitake mushrooms, cleaned
- salt, to taste
- 2 Tbsp lime juice + lime zest
- 2 Tbsp sliced celery leaves
- 50 g tomatoes, halved, seeded and diced
- 2 Tbsp fried shallots
- 100 g crispy fried leek
- 50 g emping crackers, deep-fried
How to Cook Braised Lamb Shanks with Mushrooms
- Marinate shanks evenly with 4 Tbsp spice blend.
- Heat 4 Tbsp oil in a frying pan and evenly brown shanks on all sides. Remove shanks from the pan and drain three-quarters of the oil. Add remaining spice blend, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, lemongrass, and kaffir lime leaves and sauté over medium heat until fragrant.
- Fill the pan with stock and bring to a simmer. Transfer liquid to a pressure cooker, add lamb shanks and bring back to simmer. Skim off scum.
- Pressure cook at a gauge pressure of 1 bar / 15 psi for 40–45 minutes (see pages 21-22). Start timing once full the pressure is reached.
- Turn off the heat and allow the cooker to cool for 20 minutes.
- Strain two-thirds of the liquid into a saucepan and bring to a quick boil. Remove scum and reduce heat. Add coconut cream, bring back to a boil and simmer for 3 minutes.
- In a separate saucepan quickly sauté mushrooms in 2 Tbsp oil. Strain sauce over mushrooms, add lamb shanks and remaining sauce and simmer over medium-low heat for 12–15 minutes until shanks are glazed and sauce is light and creamy. Remove from heat, and let the mixture infuse for 7–10 minutes.
- With a hand blender, quickly foam up the sauce without blending the mushrooms.
- Season sauce to taste with salt, 2 Tbsp lime juice, and lime zest. Garnish the dish with celery leaves, diced tomatoes, fried shallots, leek and emping crackers.