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Lamb brisket with bean curd sticks

Lamb brisket with bean curd sticks

枝竹羊腩煲
BraisedLambWeekendFor guestsGood reheatedMediumhands-on 40 min · start to finish 2 hr 30 min

“Give it time. It is better again tomorrow.”

Ingredientsserves 4

Mutton / lamb (bone-in belly)· lamb breast, skin on if you can get it, in 4 cm pieces1.2 kg
Dried beancurd stick· bean curd sticks, broken in 5 cm lengths, soaked half an hour3 sticks, about 60 g
Water chestnut· peeled8
Dried shiitake mushroom· soaked8
Fresh ginger· two for the blanching water6 slices
Shallots4
Garlic4 cloves
Aged dried tangerine peel· soaked and scraped1 piece
Star anise2
Bamboo sugarcane (thin green cane)· optional, the older families' sweetener2 short lengths
Rock sugar20 g
Chu hou paste2 tbsp
Fermented bean curd· two mashed into the pot, one for the dip3 cubes
Red fermented bean curd· mashed1 cube
Oyster sauce1 tbsp
Light soy sauce1 tbsp
Dark soy sauce· for colour1 tsp
Rice wine (cooking wine)· Shaoxing or rose liquor; plus a splash for the blanching water2 tbsp
Cooking oil2 tbsp
Sugar· for the dip1 tsp
Chinese lettuce· to wilt in the pot at the tablehalf a head

Method

  1. Blanch the lamb: cover with cold water with two slices of ginger and a splash of wine, bring to the boil, simmer five minutes, drain and rinse. Blanching, with the dried peel, is the standard Hong Kong answer to the gamey smell.
  2. Heat two tablespoons of oil in the pot and fry the ginger, shallots, garlic and star anise until fragrant; add the lamb and fry until the edges colour and the fat starts to run.
  3. Add the chu hou paste and the mashed white and red bean curd and fry a minute until every piece is coated; splash the wine down the side of the pot.
  4. Add four cups of water, the dried peel, sugarcane, rock sugar, oyster sauce and both soys; bring to the boil, skim, lid on and lowest heat for an hour and a quarter. Never let it boil hard, and the skin will not shrink.
  5. Add the mushrooms and water chestnuts for twenty minutes more. The soaked bean curd sticks go in last, ten minutes, so they soften without falling apart.
  6. Move to a hot claypot (or stay in the pot you cooked in), reduce the sauce a little uncovered and take it to the table bubbling. The lettuce goes into the sauce at the table to wilt; mash a cube of white bean curd with a teaspoon of sugar and a little of the braising liquid for the dip.

Take care

  • Contains soy and wheat (chu hou paste, both bean curds, soy sauce, oyster sauce) and sesame (chu hou paste); oyster sauce contains mollusc (oyster). Lamb must be cooked through, which at these times it is well past.

The story

Lamb brisket claypot is Hong Kong's winter, the pot that appears on dai pai dong and claypot menus the week the Observatory says the temperature will drop, and the dish the city's food press ranks every December (HK01, U Food, ELLE and Weekend HK all run annual lists). It is a Cantonese braise with a Chiu Chow inflection, white bean curd as both seasoning and dip, and bean curd sticks to make a pound of meat feed a table.

Same technique

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Lo Fo Tong is cultural food-heritage reference, not medical advice. If you are pregnant, unwell or on medication, talk to your doctor or registered practitioner before changing what is in the pot.