- 1 kg rack of young goat or lamb
- 3-4 small bunches coriander
- 2 tbsb coriander seed
- 1 tsp szechuan pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 thumb of ginger
- 2 garlic cloves
- 3 green cardamom pods
- 4-5 fresh green chilis (or to taste)
- 1-2 cups chicken stock
Dry roast the coriander seed with the salt and szechuan pepper. Pound coarsely in pestle and mortar. Rub the meat with the spice mixture, then brown all it all over in a frying pan with a little oil. There's no need to cut it up.
Crush the coriander root, ginger, garlic and fresh chilis to a coarse paste in the pestle and mortar. Reserve a little coriander leaf for garnish.
Put a "spacer" into the pressure cooker. This is just a small metal platform, about 1-2 cm high, that sits on the bottom of the cooker - mine comes with one, but feel free to improvise. The point is just that the meat is not in contact with the cooker. Rub the meat all over with the paste (do no rub your eyes after this) and then arrange on the spacer.
Deglaze the browning pan with the chicken stock, then pour carefully into the cooker. The stock level should be just at, or below, the meat. This is a steam, not a braise.
Bring to a boil, seal the cooker, then leave over minimum heat for about 2 hours. You lose a little steam from the valve, but when I tried it the liquid level barely dropped, check by very gently swirling the cooker, if you're paranoid. Very little liquid is required.
To serve, remove the meat, pull apart slightly (it should fall apart easily) to make it easier to serve. Reduce the cooking liquid and thicken with a little starch, then pour a little over the meat, but don't drown it. Toss through with fresh coriander and sprinkle a little black vinegar (or balsamic). If you like, add roasted red chilis.
I served this with a regionally confused mish-mash of rice, fast-pickled bitter melon, sichuan shredded potatoes and burnt eggplant smashed up with raw garlic, coriander and onion