Hare Today, Gone Tomorrow

I went deeply into Chinese inspired food again, specifically a dish from the late Barbara Tropp's China Moon cookbook with the simple name of Bunny Stew.  There was a sale on rabbit and I had all but two of the lengthy list of ingredients needed and they were easy to find.

The rabbit sat overnight in a marinade of hoisin sauce, soy sauce, Shao-Xing, chilli sauce, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, and onions.  Wiped dry, the pieces got a quick browning in some oil and were set aside.  Ginger, scallions and garlic went into the wok with some oil and a minute later in went diced onion, carrot and celery.  Next in was a sauce of chicken stock, Shao-Xing, hoisin sauce and soy sauce.   Next was a smashed stalk of lemon grass.  The rabbit legs went in next and five minutes later the loin pieces were added.  The entire thing was covered and simmered for ten minutes.

Quite an unusual and tasty mixture of flavors and aromas.  Since the stew was not spicy-hot I went with a dry wine, a 2010 Nigl Gruener Veltliner, Freiheit from Austria.  Bone dry with aromas of white pepper, melons, and a few flowers .  Electric feel in the mouth with acid and tastes of citrus and melon.  Decent length and a bracing finish.  There was enough body to the wine to stand up to the Asian flavors, and they bowed politely to each other before the wine and ginger fell in love and wandered off together to live happily ever after.  Good match.

Nigl, Gruner Veltliner, Freiheit.  11.5% alcohol and $14.  A bargain.