Cook and Drink

The obvious way to prepare lamb shanks is to fry them briefly in oil en butter and then cook them for hours in red wine with a bouguet garni of rosemary, thyme, parsley, sage and perhaps lavender. Maybe add a small tomato to help the sauce. We take a different approach by adding strong flavors like ginger, cilantro seeds, star anise, soy sauce and the leaves of the Makrut or Thai lime (also known as Djeroek Poeroet or Djeruk Purut). You will get a full, complex sauce in combination with tasty, juicy, tender and aromatic meat.

Wine Pairing

The obvious choice would be a glass of Pinot Blanc or Pinot Gris. We once enjoyed the dish with a glass of Gewurztraminer from the Alsace. A touch of spiciness and sweetness, which worked really well with the star anise and ginger.
Combining the lamb shanks with red wine is more challenging. Our choice was a bottle of Cuvée Equinoxe produced by Domaine d’Arjolle, from the Languedoc region in France. The wine is made with 100% merlot grapes. It has an intense ruby ​​color and aromas of red fruit. The flavour is soft and long, with a touch of sweetness and oak. A soft, not too complex Syrah could also be very nice with the lamb shanks.

What You Need

• 2 Lamb Shanks
• Shallot
• Olive oil
• Fresh Ginger (4 cm, depending on your taste)
• 1/2 red Chili
• 2 Garlic Cloves
• Noilly Prat
• teaspoon of Cilantro Seeds
• 2 Star Anise
• Low Salt Soy Sauce
• 6 leaves of Djeroek Poeroet

What You Do

Fry the meat in olive oil, giving it a nice colour. In the mean time cut the shallot, peel the ginger and slice, remove the seeds from the chili and cut the garlic clove (but not too fine). Remove the meat from the pan and glaze the shallot, chili, ginger and garlic. Add the Noilly Prat, crushed cilantro seeds, star anise, some low-salt soy sauce and the djeroek poeroet. Stir. Transfer the meat back to the pan and add some water, perhaps 3 cm. Leave to simmer for 4 – 6 hours in total. Check the pan every hour and add water if so required. After 6 hours remove the shanks from the sauce and cool. Reduce the sauce, let cool and transfer to the refrigerator. The following day remove as much of the fat from the sauce as possible. Warm the sauce together with the shanks, check taste and tenderness.
Serve with steamed Bok Choy tossed with sesame oil or with rice.