Grilled Cumin and Sichuan Peppercorn Lamb Leg Steaks (燒烤孜然花椒羊肉, Siu1 Haau1 Zi1 Jin4 Faa1 Ziu1 Joeng4 Juk6)

Lamb leg steaks are sometimes available at my local market. I can always find either bone-in and boneless whole lamb legs, but unless I want to grill a whole leg (recipes: Grilled Butterflied Lamb Leg and Grilled Mesquite-Smoked Garlic Rosemary Lamb), lamb leg steaks can be more convenient to cook. The spice paste used to season the lamb is not hot, but spicy and flavorful. You can apply the spice paste one hour before grilling, but the lamb will taste better if left to marinate overnight in the refrigerator. If you want more heat, just add and grind dried red chili peppers to the mixture.

Enjoy!

Cumin Baby Bok Choy Sum Lamb Hong Kong Noodles (孜然小白菜心羊肉雲吞麵, Zi1 Jin4 Siu2 Baak6 Coi3 Sam1 Joeng4 Juk6 Wan4 Tan1 Min6)

Lamb leg meat is usually available as a whole leg with the bone still in, semi-boneless, or boneless. Occasionally smaller quantities are available and that prompted the creation of this dish. Cumin adds another flavor to the dish and that spice goes nicely with the dried red chili peppers. You can of course adjust the amount of chili peppers to your personal preference. Finally fried tofu (cut into strips) and an Asian leafy vegetable gives the noodle dish some added texture. Any leafy vegetable will do, but I used the leaves from baby bok choy sum.

Enjoy!

Grilled Butterflied Lamb Leg

Here’s another butterflied leg of lamb recipe. The previous version, Grilled Mesquite-Smoked Garlic Rosemary Lamb, used different spices and two grilling methods to prepare the dish. This version uses an Asian based marinade and direct heat to grill the dish. The amount of chili garlic sauce can be varied according to taste – use more if you like spicy, less if you don’t. If done correctly, the outer layer of the lamb will be crusty and the inner meat medium-rare.

Enjoy!

Grilled Xinjiang-Style Lamb Rib Chops (新疆燒烤羊扒, San1 Goeng1 Siu1 Haau1 Joeng4 Paa4)

This recipe was updated on 11 Apr 2015. Some ingredient quantities and instructions were updated.

This recipe was adapted from that published in Saveur Magazine, June/July 2013 issue in the article, “Fire in the Belly”. The original recipe was for lamb skewers. The spice paste, consisting of red chili flakes, cumin, Sichuan peppercorns, and oyster sauce would go well with any meat. I happen to have two racks of lamb in my freezer, so it made sense to use them instead of making skewers with lamb shoulder as called for in the original recipe. The article makes the point that a very hot fire is used for cooking, so I piled the charcoal into one-half of the grill to place the coals as close to the grill surface as possible. You may have to decrease the cooking time depending upon the heat of your grill. Cooking time is fast for medium-rare rib chops, so be careful not to overcook the lamb.

 

Enjoy!

Lamb Shanks with Spiced Lentils

I had some already browned on the grill, but uncooked, lamb shanks in my freezer (newly rediscovered!) and decided it was time to cook them. This dish was adapted from Braised Lamb Shank with Coriander, Fennel, and Star Anise recipe at the epicurious.com website. I used a slow cooker instead of the oven to cook the dish and made some additions to the ingredients; the most significant being lentils. This makes a nice meal for a cool Fall or Winter evening.

Enjoy!

Grilled Mesquite-Smoked Garlic Rosemary Lamb

This recipe was updated on 3 Sep 2013. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements added. There is another butterflied leg of lamb recipe using an Asian based marinade which can be found at Grilled Butterflied Lamb Leg.

I couldn’t resist buying a 2 lb. boneless leg of lamb on special at the supermarket (I already had something else planned for dinner). With the bone already removed, the lamb was already butterflied, and all I had to do was remove any excess fat and sinew (don’t remove any outside fat from the lamb). I seasoned the lamb with a rub of olive oil, garlic, and rosemary (from my garden). I grilled the lamb over direct heat to brown it first, and then smoked it with mesquite wood using indirect heat. I left the lamb on the grill a little too long (time has been reduced in the recipe), but it was still very delicious. Leftovers will be made into sandwiches!

Enjoy!

Chinese Broccoli Lamb (芥蘭羊肉, Gaai3 Laan4 Joeng4 Juk6)

 

This recipe was updated on 10 Jul 2014. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements added.

Lamb always goes well with a spicy sauce. In this case, Fu Chi brand Chili Paste with Fermented Soy Bean is the basis for the sauce. The actual Chinese translation is “Hunan Fermented Black Soybean Hot Pepper”, so it’s really a chili sauce with fermented black soy beans. Add Chinese broccoli and you have dinner.

Enjoy!

Grilled Cumin Lamb Arm Steaks with Vegetables

Lamb arm steaks have been available at my local market recently. The steaks are great when grilled when marinated with cumin. Grill with some vegetables; in this case bell pepper and mushrooms, and you have dinner.

Enjoy!

Lamb and Asparagus Fried Rice (蘆筍羊肉炒飯, Lou4 Seon2 Joeng4 Juk6 Caau2 Faan6)

 

This recipe was updated on 12 Nov 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements added.

Fried rice is the ultimate leftover dish, which is why I normally don’t order fried rice in a Chinese restaurant. You use whatever’s handy to make a quick stir fry dish. The basic ingredients are rice, meat, vegetables, and oyster sauce (soy sauce is used in restaurants). I posted a basic fried rice recipe some time ago: Fried Rice (炒飯, Caau² Faan⁶). While there are many brands of oyster sauce, I use Lee Kum Kee Premium Oyster Flavored Sauce because it’s the brand I grew up with and it does, in my opinion, have the best flavor. It’s a little more expensive than other brands, but it’s worth the price in my opinion. I once had a weak moment and bought an inexpensive brand of oyster sauce, and was disappointed in the flavor when compared to the Lee Kum Kee Premium brand. So get the good stuff!

Enjoy!

Lamb Chive Chow Mein (韭菜羊肉炒麵, Gau2 Coi3 Joeng4 Juk6 Caau2 Min6)

This recipe was updated on 13 Dec 2014. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements added.

Lamb and chives make a great taste combination. Add some noodles and tofu and you have a satisfying dish.

The last noodle recipe I published, Beef Sugar Snap Pea Chow Mein (蜜豆牛肉炒麵, Mat⁶ Dau⁶ Ngau⁴ Juk⁶ Caau² Min⁶), I forgot to include the instructions to prepare the noodles (since corrected). The noodles just magically appeared! It’s amazing, since I reviewed the recipe more than once looking for errors and that certainly was a big one. So for this recipe, I didn’t forget!

Enjoy!

Lamb Dough Sliced Noodles (小羊炒刀削麵, Siu2 Joeng4 Caau2 Dou1 Soek3 Min6)

This recipe was updated on 03 May 2015. A new recipe, Cabbage Lamb Dough Sliced Noodles (青椰菜羊肉刀削麵, Ceng¹ Je⁴ Coi³ Joeng⁴ Juk⁶ Dou¹ Soek³ Min⁶), was introduced and is now the way I prepare this dish.

 

I got introduced to this dish at the local Chinese Muslim restaurant. For some reason, I omitted the scrambled eggs that are usually part of this dish, but the recipe includes the eggs. You also usually eat this dish with green onion bread or pancakes, which you can find in the freezer section of your local Asian market. Dough sliced noodles are aptly named since the thick noodles are sliced from a block of dough. The noodles have a chewy doughy texture, unlike normal chow mein noodles. The dough sliced noodles can also be found in the freezer section at your local Asian market.

Enjoy!

Slow Cooker Spiced Lamb Shanks

 

This recipe was updated on 21 July 2013. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements added.

I usually don’t make this dish in the summer (even though it’s been a cool summer this year), as this is more of a Fall or Winter meal, but lamb shanks were on sale and they’re one of my favorite ingredients. I previously made this dish with red wine or port but decided instead to try a Chardonnay this time, and I was pleased with the results (you can just as easily use chicken stock). I also got the idea to add lemon to the dish from this recipe that was featured in the Wall Street Journal. However, what really makes this dish tasty are the spices – cumin, fennel, coriander, allspice, and pepper - which are toasted before being ground (and then adding turmeric). The spice mix would also work for pork (a future recipe).

The other piece of information came from America’s Test Kitchen. They use Minute Tapioca (made by Kraft) to thicken sauces in a slow cooker. They found that tapioca starch holds up well to the long cooking time in slow cooker, whereas other thickeners, such as corn starch, break down and don’t thicken. Minute Tapioca can be found in any grocery store, but it’s pretty expensive when you compare it to regular tapioca starch, which is available in Asian markets. They both thicken the liquid equally as well, so I use regular tapioca starch.

The Lamb Shanks can either be browned in a wok or Dutch oven, or in a barbeque (smoked with hickory and rosemary) before adding the shanks to the slow cooker. The lamb shanks can be browned the night before cooking.

Enjoy!

Grilled Cumin Lamb Shoulder Steak (燒烤孜然羊肩肉, Siu1 Haau1 Zi1 Jin4 Joeng4 Gin1 Juk6)

 

This recipe was updated on 17 Dec 2014. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements added.

The same marinade that was used for the Grilled Cumin Turkey Wings (孜然火雞翼, Zi¹ Jin⁴ Fo² Gai¹ Jik⁶) recipe also goes very well with lamb, in this case lamb shoulder steaks. You need to grill the lamb shoulder steaks using direct heat to cook them. The marinade uses cumin, star anise, and Sichuan peppercorn to give the lamb its spicy flavor.

Enjoy!