Coconut rabbit stew is a dish from the traditional cooking of La Guajira, on Colombia's Caribbean coast, where rabbit is cooked in coconut milk until the sauce turns thick. Colombia's Ministry of Culture records it as a traditional dish that is easy to make.
The meat is first marinated with tomato, white onion, scallion, garlic, chili pepper, salt, and pepper, then stewed in the milk made from two coconuts grated with water. The result is tender rabbit in a thick coconut sauce, served with white rice.
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Colombian Coconut Rabbit Stew
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings
- Category: Main Course
- Cuisine: Colombian
Ingredients
- 2 rabbits
- 2 coconuts
- 1 ripe tomato, peeled and chopped
- 1 white onion, finely chopped
- 1 stalk of scallion or green onion, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 chili pepper, finely chopped
- 6 cups of water
- Salt, to taste
- Pepper, to taste
Preparation
- Prepare the rabbit, cut the rabbits into serving pieces. If they still have the white veins along the legs and spine (known as «almizcle»), carefully remove them.
- Marinate the meat, in a large pot, combine the pieces with the tomato, white onion, scallion, garlic, chili pepper, salt, and pepper. Cover the pot well and let it rest for about 2 hours, or longer for more flavor.
- Make the coconut milk, while the meat rests, crack open the coconuts and grate or blend them with the 6 cups of water; strain to get the coconut milk.
- Cook the rabbit, put the pot with the rabbit and its seasonings over the heat and cook for 10 minutes.
- Stew in the coconut milk, add the coconut milk and cook for about 40 minutes, stirring now and then, until the sauce is thick. Serve with white rice.
Practical Tips
- The longer the meat rests in the marinade, the more flavor it gets: at least 2 hours.
- If you don't have coconuts, you can use ready-made coconut milk: this recipe needs 7 bags of 250 g (about 1.75 kg in total).
- Stir now and then while it cooks so the sauce doesn't stick as it thickens.
How to Serve
Serve the rabbit piping hot with its thick coconut sauce, alongside white rice.
Frequently Asked Questions
It's a lean meat with a mild flavor, which in this stew soaks up the marinade and the coconut milk.
At least 2 hours, well covered. If you leave it longer, the meat will take on more flavor.
Crack open the coconuts, grate or blend them with the 6 cups of water, and strain the liquid. That milk is what the rabbit is stewed in.
Yes. This recipe needs 7 bags of 250 g of ready-made coconut milk instead of the coconuts and water.
When, after about 40 minutes of cooking in the coconut milk, the sauce has thickened and the meat is tender.
