A new look at cooking and home decorating...with an attempt to add more greens to the plate, more vegetarian options & hopefully lots of new ideas to explore

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Lamb Shanks with an Asian Flair

With the amount of sports that my children do during the Summer time, it was a nice change to come home to this slow cooked meal. Lamb shanks seem like a winter dish, but with a nice salad in place of starch, this is perfect in summer as well. If making it in the winter, I like these served with a simple risotto. Please note that the hoisin, soy and sweet red chili sauce all came from the Asian section of my regular grocery store.

2-3 Tablespoons Canola or vegetable oil
3 medium to large lamb shanks, seasoned with salt and ground pepper
2-3 medium size, peeled and thinly sliced yellow onions
2" knob of fresh ginger, grated
1 head of garlic, (13 cloves) peeled and minced
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons honey
zest and juice of 2 lemons
1/2 cup water
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
5 Tablespoon Hoisin sauce
1/4 cup Thai sweet red chili sauce

To Finish sauce(optional) you will need 2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water, salt, pepper, fresh lemon juice from 1 lemon.

Start by warming you oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Add the seasoned lamb shanks and sear until all sides are golden (about 3 minutes per side)- Add lamb shanks to slow cooker pot.

Reduce heat to medium low. Add the onions and cook for about 3-5 minutes or until onions are tender. Add the ginger and garlic and cook 1 minute more. Add the vinegar and cook while scraping the brown bits from the bottom of the pan for 1-2 minutes. Transfer the mixture to the slow cooker.

Add to the slow cooker the honey, lemon juice and zest, water, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, and red chili sauce.

Cook on high 5 hours.

The lamb shanks can be eaten as is but I like to strain the liquid, discard the solids, and place the liquid into a saucepan. Combine 2 tablespoons cornstarch with 2 tablespoons water and add it to the pan. Bring liquid to a boil and adjust seasonings with, salt, pepper and fresh lemon juice from 1 lemon

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