Braised Lamb with Carrots (羊肉烧胡萝卜 Yang Rou Shao Hu Luo Bo)

I just harvested a bunch of carrots that I seeded in December. It’s my first time growing them. I realize now that I planted them a little too close together, which did not give them enough space to grow big. But overall I’m pretty happy with the results. Pulling the carrots out of the dirt was quite a thrilling experience. You never know what you will get next. Although my carrots are mostly small to medium in size, they look super cute and taste great. My kids also enjoyed pulling the carrots and got to experience first hand the knowledge that the carrots they eat are actually the root of a plant.

Since I also had some bone-in lamb meat handy, I decided to make this Braised Lamb with Carrots dish. It does not use many ingredients, so as to focus on the flavor of the lamb and carrots. Both bone-in lamb and boneless lamb can work well. The sweetness from the sugar really brings out the flavor of both the lamb and carrots, making them more succulent.

I was left with so many carrot tops/greens, so naturally I made my carrot greens salad, which happens to go quite well with this meaty dish.

Preparation Time:  10 minutes

Total Time:  1.5 hours

Servings: 2 – 4 people

Ingredients:

• 1 to 2 lb lamb meat ¹
• 1/2 lb carrot (2 to 3 small carrots or 1 large carrot)
• 1 2-inch piece of ginger
• 2 medium-sized rock sugar pieces, 1 flat brown sugar piece, or 3 tablespoons white sugar ²
• ~2 cups hot water
• 2 tablespoons Chinese Shaoxing wine
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 green onion

Preparation:

1. Pat the lamb meat dry. Peel and cut the ginger into slices. Peel and roll cut the carrots by cutting diagonally and rolling the carrot 90 degrees after each cut. Cut the green onion into thin slices and set aside. Boil some hot water in a kettle.

2. Heat a large deep pot (cast iron, dutch oven or sauce pan) under medium-low heat. Add the 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil. When the oil is getting warm, add the sugar and ginger slices, tossing occasionally until the sugar completely melts but is not burnt.

3. Add the lamb meat to the pot and immediately start stirring and tossing for a few minutes. When most of the lamb meat is covered with a coat of sugar, add the ~2 cups of water or enough water to submerge most of the meat. Add the rest of the condiments: 2 tablespoons of Chinese Shaoxing wine, 1 tablespoon of light soy sauce, and 1 tablespoon of dark soy sauce, raising the heat to medium-high to bring to a boil.

4. Once boiling, lower the heat to low to maintain a simmer and cover the lid. Simmer the lamb for 45 minutes to an hour. Then add the carrots and continue simmering for another 20 to 30 minutes.

5. When the time is up, take the lamb meat and carrots out into a plate while leaving the liquid in the pot. With lid open, raise the temperature to medium-high and let the liquid boil for a few minutes. When liquid reduces to about half volume or to your desired thickness, turn off the heat. Pour the liquid over the lamb meat and carrots. Sprinkle some green onions on top and enjoy!

Bon Appétit

Notes:

1. Both bone-in lamb and boneless lamb meat work well for this recipe. I used 2 lb bone-in lamb here. You can reduce the amount to 1 lb if using boneless lamb meat.

2. Rock sugar is lumps of crystallized sugar.  They are sold in most Asian grocery stores. It is either yellow or white and can be big or small. 

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