Hi!!! Winter is really in full swing now. Shanghai is down to only a few degrees Celsius and everywhere I walk, people are wrapped in thick, down stuffed coats. What do we do when the weather gets cold? Well in China, we put on our long johns (no kidding), open the air purifiers and cook some lamb. We had lamb in the freezer and my mom found an old recipe, so behold, sweet and savory braised lamb chops. YAY!!!

Onto the cooking!!!!

First put the lamb in a mixture of honey, soy sauce and sesame oil, add some minced garlic, and let it marinate for 10-15 minutes. If you like it spicy, you could also add some finely chopped peppers. My brother doesn’t so we skipped that part this time.

After marinating, heat up a pan on high and sear the chops for 1-1.5min on each side. Turn down the heat, pour in the marinating liquid, some water and continue cooking until boiling. We used a wok, but if you sear the lamb in a frying pan, I highly suggest transfering the meat into a pot or large saucepan before adding the rest of the liquid

Once it is boiling, reduce heat to a small flame, cover the pot and continue cooking until the liquid becomes a thick sauce. Remove from heat, serve and enjoy!!!

Tips:

1.  Use good, fresh meat. This is especially important since lamb has a very distinct taste and the quality of the meat is very obvious. Plus,the better the meat, the jucier and more tender the dish will be
2. Take extra care to preserve as much of the “juice” or blood in the meat as possible.
3. Be extra careful when searing as the sugars in honey caramelize and burn easily

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Ingredients

• 8-10 medium sized bone in lamb chops
• Honey
• Sesame oil
• Light Soy sauce
• 1/2 cloves Garlic (minced)
• 3-4 small red chilies finely chopped (optional but recommended)
• 1-1.5 liters water

Directions

Mix together the honey, sesame oil and soy sauce in a 1:1:1 ratio. Add the garlic, chilies and let the lamb chops marinate in this mixture for 10-15 minutes. Heat a pan, or wok to high and sear the meat for 1-1.5 min on each side. Be extra careful as the honey caramelizes and burns quickly. Reduce heat to medium and add in the rest of the marinating liquid and water. (Transfer to a pot or saucepan if necessary). Once the mixture is boiling, reduce the heat to low, cover the pot and allow the meat to slowly simmer for 35-45 minutes. The liquid should reduce down to a thick sauce. Serve and enjoy!!! 🙂

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• Meats