Slow Cooker Curry Lamb, Lentil, and Cauliflower Stew (燉咖哩兵豆椰菜花羊肉, Dan6 Gaa3 Lei1 Bing1 Dau6 Je4 Coi3 Faa1 Joeng4 Juk6)

This was more of an experiment when I made this dish. I purchased lamb stew meat and wanted to make a lentil curry in the slow cooker. Usually the lentils are cooked aside from the lamb stew, but I wanted to see if I could just use the slow cooker to make the dish all at once. I was afraid that the lentils would disintegrate if cooked for a long time in the slow cooker. It turns out that the lentils didn’t disintegrate, but the cauliflower became mushy after 8 hours of cooking. So I’ve reduced the cooking time to 6 hours in the recipe to reflect this. Otherwise, the stew was easy to make and has an Asian taste due to the lamb marinade used in the curry. You can easily omit marinating the lamb and just add the lamb to the slow cooker to save a step (and time).

Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 lb.	500 g.	Lamb stew meat (羊肉, joeng4  juk6), cut into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Baking soda (蘇打粉, sou1 daa2 fan2)
½ in.	15 mm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), crushed in a garlic press
2 cloves	2 cloves	Garlic (蒜, syun3), crushed in a garlic press
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Corn starch (粟粉, suk1 fan2)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Soy sauce (豉油, si6 jau4)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Hoisin sauce (海鮮醬, hoi2 sin1 zoeng3)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)
1	1	Cauliflower head (椰菜花, je4 coi3 faa1)
1 lb.	500 g.	Carrots (紅蘿蔔, hung4 lo4 baak6), cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) quarter-cut pieces
1	1	Large onion (洋蔥, joeng4 cung1), cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces
12	12	Brown mushrooms (蘑菇, mo4 gu1), quartered into pieces
1 cup	250 ml.	Lentils (兵豆, bing1 dau6)
½ in.	15 mm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), crushed in a garlic press
2 cloves	2 cloves	Garlic (蒜, syun3), crushed in a garlic press
		Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry to deglaze the wok
		Oil for cooking

Sauce Ingredients

4 Tbs.	60 ml.	Curry powder (咖哩粉, gaa3 lei1 fan2)
3 Tbs.	45 ml.	Tapioca starch (木薯澱粉, muk6 syu4 din6 fan2)
3 Tbs.	45 ml.	Water
		Chicken stock (雞湯, gai1 tong1) or water to cover the lamb and lentils

Equipment

		Garlic press
		Slotted spoon
14 in.	35.5 cm.	Wok or pan
6.5 qt.	6 L.	Slow cooker (crock pot) to cook the stew

Preparation Instructions

1. If already-cut lamb stew meat was not purchased at your local market, prepare the lamb shoulder or leg meat by removing any silver skin and fat, and cut the meat into 2-inch (5 cm.) pieces. Wet with water and add the baking soda to the lamb, allow to tenderize for 15 minutes, and then wash the baking soda from the meat. The baking soda can be omitted but results in the tender meat experienced in restaurant dishes.
2. Marinate the lamb in a covered container for at least one hour or overnight in the refrigerator with the ginger and garlic crushed in a garlic press, corn starch, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. If marinating the lamb overnight, take it out of the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking.
3. Place the lamb with the marinade into the slow cooker. Use a slotted spoon to remove the lamb and put it back into the covered container, leaving the marinade in the slow cooker.
4. Wash and remove any stones from the lentils. Place the lentils into the slow cooker. Crush the ginger and garlic in a garlic press and put into slow cooker. Put the curry powder into the slow cooker and mix the contents together.
5. Prepare and mix the tapioca starch slurry in a small bowl by mixing the tapioca starch and water together. Put the contents of the bowl into the slow cooker and mix the contents together.
6. Wash the cauliflower and cut into individual florets.
7. Wash and cut the carrots into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) quarter-cut pieces. Cut the carrots on the diagonal and turn the carrot a quarter-turn. Repeat the diagonal cut and quarter-turn steps until the entire carrot is cut into pieces.
8. Remove the tough outer layers of the onion and then cut the onion in half. Cut each onion half into 1-inch (2.5 cm.) pieces.
9. Clean and cut the brown or button mushrooms into quartered pieces.

Cooking Instructions

1. Heat a wok or pan over high heat before adding oil. Add the lamb pieces to the wok in a single layer on the bottom and brown the outside. You may have to cook the lamb in batches, so be sure to reheat the wok over high heat before adding more oil. Deglaze the wok with Shaoxing wine or dry sherry. Transfer the contents of the wok to slow cooker and mix the contents together.
2. Add chicken stock or water to cover the lamb and lentils in the slow cooker, if necessary, and then mix the contents of the slow cooker together.
3. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the brown or button mushrooms. Stir fry the mushrooms and then transfer to the slow cooker.
4. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding oil and then the carrots. Stir fry the carrots and then deglaze the pan with Shaoxing wine or dry sherry. Transfer the contents of the wok to the slow cooker.
5. Add the cauliflower to the slow cooker.
6. Set the slow cooker to low and allow to cook for up to 6 hours. Put the cooked ingredients into a serving dish and serve with steamed rice.