Chinese Red Braised Lamb (红烧羊肉)

Do this Chinese language-style braised lamb cooked in a savory sauce with quite simple seasonings till tender and juicy. It can have everybody asking for seconds! Serve it over steamed rice for a particular dinner, or take pleasure in them all through the week as meal prep.

Rising up in Northern China, one among my favourite dishes from my grandma was purple braised lamb. Like Red Braised Pork (Hong Shao Rou), this recipe makes use of a couple of easy pantry components to create a comforting and satisfying meal with easy steps.

This recipe sears the lamb till golden crispy to seal the juice and umami. It’s then braised in a deeply savory, soy sauce-based broth with aromatics, so as to eradicate the gamey style but deliver out the good taste of the lamb. As soon as carried out, the lamb is buttery tender and coated with a wealthy, sticky sauce that goes completely with steamed rice. This dish takes a while to prepare dinner, but it surely includes little or no energetic cooking time, making it an important dish to prepare dinner on the weekend.

Crimson-braised lamb components

What reduce of lamb to make use of

The perfect reduce of lamb for braised lamb is well-marbled lamb meat that has some fats to it. As a result of the fats will maintain the meat additional tender and juicy whereas cooking, and it’ll soften into the sauce on the finish for a really scrumptious end.

On this recipe I used lamb stew meat, which is without doubt one of the least expensive and most accessible methods to prepare dinner this dish within the US. Different nice cuts of lamb embrace boneless lamb leg, bone-in lamb stew meat, and lamb breast.

In China, we regularly use lamb ribs to make this dish. It’s not a reduce I usually see within the US, however please do attempt to prepare dinner with it if you’ll find the reduce. It’s among the finest cuts to make braised lamb as a result of lamb rib meat is tremendous flavorful.

Mise en place

Crimson braised lamb makes use of a couple of easy pantry components to make a really wealthy and scrumptious sauce whereas bringing out the style of the lamb.

Whenever you’re making braised lamb, you don’t even have to portion out every little thing in small bowls like I’ve proven within the image beneath. You possibly can merely add the seasonings as you go when the lamb is simmering.

prepare dinner red-braised lamb 

Cooking purple braised lamb is straightforward and simple:

1. Brown the lamb
2. Saute the aromatics to launch the perfume
3. Add the water and produce to a boil
4. Skim and discard the froth from the highest
5. Add the seasonings and braise for half-hour
6. Take away the aromatics and spices in huge items 
7. Add the remainder of the seasonings and braise for one more half-hour
8. Scale back the sauce for 20 minutes or so

The perfect pan for purple braised lamb

I like to make use of a wok to make braised meat as a result of:

1. It browns the meat higher
2. You should utilize much less water to cowl the meat as a result of form of the wok
3. It reduces the sauce extra effectively 

That being mentioned, it’s completely OK to make use of a dutch oven or a big deep skillet to make this dish. 

If you happen to use a dutch oven, you’ll in all probability want extra time to cut back the sauce since you’ll want extra water initially. Additionally, as a result of form of the pot, it’s tougher to stir the meat on the finish (to stop it from sticking). After I use a dutch oven to make purple braised dishes, I often braise the meat till it’s totally carried out, switch the meat into a big bowl, then cut back the sauce by itself.

The proper warmth for purple braising

An important factor for Chinese language purple braising (红烧) is to maintain the warmth fairly excessive (often medium or barely decrease than medium whereas holding the pan coated), so the broth is continually at a speedy boil. This manner, the fats from the meat shall be melting into the broth and change into emulsified in it, making the sauce wealthy and sticky on the finish. It’s fairly totally different from Western-style braised dishes, the place you retain the broth at a simmer so as to create a transparent broth. 

If you don’t use sufficient warmth, the braised lamb will nonetheless be very scrumptious served with the sauce. The sauce will come out thinner, with a layer of fats on prime, which may be skimmed and eliminated earlier than serving.

The timing of sauce discount

For purple braising, the opposite essential factor is to cut back the sauce on the finish. You wish to time it in the best way that the lamb is generally prepared, however may want just a little bit extra cooking time. Then you’ll use a a lot increased warmth to deliver the broth to a full boil whereas holding the pan uncovered. Throughout this course of, that you must watch the pan carefully and maintain scooping the lamb from the underside. The sauce shall be lowered in a short time on the finish. The sugar will begin to caramelize, effervescent rather a lot and turning the broth to a reddish brown colour. 

An important factor is to cut back the sauce simply sufficient that it thinly coats the meat. It is best to decrease the warmth to examine on the sauce if wanted. The sauce will maintain thickening as soon as it has cooled off barely. If you happen to cut back the sauce an excessive amount of, you’ll have little or no sauce left to serve. 

serve purple braised lamb

My favourite method to serve purple braised lamb is over steamed white rice. However you’ll be able to serve it over boiled noodles as properly. The lamb is savory and goes with different sides too, reminiscent of baked potatoes, steamed greens, pasta and extra. It’s even an important dish to serve for celebratory events as one of many essential dishes throughout a multi-course dinner, reminiscent of Chinese language New 12 months. It’s a dish that may be cooked forward of time and heated up and loved later, so it’s additionally good for meal prep. 

Different scrumptious stew and braised dishes

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Chinese language Crimson Braised Lamb (红烧羊肉)

Do this Chinese language-style braised lamb cooked in a savory sauce with quite simple seasonings till tender and juicy. It can have everybody asking for seconds! Serve it over steamed rice for a particular dinner, or take pleasure in it all through the week as meal prep.

Creator: Maggie Zhu

Course: Important

Delicacies: Chinese language

Key phrase: homestyle

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Prepare dinner Time: 1 hour hour

Inactive cooking time: 1 hour hour

Whole Time: 2 hours hours 10 minutes minutes

Directions

• Warmth the oil in a big wok (or dutch oven) till sizzling. Add the lamb items with out overlapping. You may have to prepare dinner in two batches. Brown the lamb till the underside turns golden brown. Flip to brown the opposite aspect. As soon as either side are browned, switch the lamb to a big plate and put aside.

• Your pan ought to nonetheless have some oil. If not, add 1/2 tablespoon of oil. Add the inexperienced onion, ginger, chili pepper and Sichuan peppercorn. Stir a couple of occasions to launch the perfume.

• Pour 6 cups of water into the pan, or till a lot of the lamb items are coated (*Footnote 1). Scrape the underside to launch any brown bits. Add the Shaoxing wine. Prepare dinner over medium-high warmth till boiling. Add again the lamb. Preserve boiling the lamb whereas utilizing a skimmer to skim and discard the froth from the floor till the broth is evident, 10 to fifteen minutes.

• Cowl the pan and switch to medium or medium-low warmth, so the broth is boiling quickly (much less intensely than a full boil, however way more than simmering). Prepare dinner for half-hour.

• Uncover the pan. Add the sunshine soy sauce, darkish soy sauce, rock sugar and salt. Cowl the pan and maintain cooking for 30 to 40 minutes or so, till the lamb turns tender. You should utilize a paring knife to poke by means of the lamb to check. The fatty items needs to be pierced by means of with out resistance, however the lean items needs to be tender-ish however may want a bit extra cooking. (*Footnote 2)

• Uncover the pan and switch to medium-high or excessive warmth for a full boil, to cut back and thicken the sauce. Boil for 20 minutes or so, scoop the meat from the underside sometimes at first and continuously on the finish to stop it from sticking, till the sauce has thickened sufficient to thinly coat the lamb. You possibly can decrease the warmth occasionally, to examine on the sauce with out overcooking. The sauce will thicken extra as soon as it cools down barely, so watch out to not cut back it an excessive amount of.

• As soon as carried out, flip off the warmth and switch every little thing to a big plate. Function a essential dish over steamed rice with greens sides, or by itself.

Notes

1. If utilizing a dutch oven or massive pot, you in all probability want extra water to cowl the lamb. It can barely change the time you’ll want to cut back the sauce.
2. The lean items shall be cooked additional when you cut back the sauce. Nonetheless, should you use a dutch oven, it is going to be tougher to cut back the sauce as a result of form of the pan (takes longer, and it’s more durable to flip the meat to stop it from burning). On this case, you’ll be able to select to braise the lamb longer till it reaches the specified texture, take away it from the pot, then cut back the sauce by itself.

Diet

Serving: 1serving, Energy: 246kcal, Carbohydrates: 6g, Protein: 31.1g, Fats: 10.2g, Saturated Fats: 3.2g, Ldl cholesterol: 98mg, Sodium: 620mg, Potassium: 383mg, Fiber: 0.1g, Sugar: 3.5g, Calcium: 16mg, Iron: 3mg