Oriental Lamb Kebabs with Soy & Honey Dipping Sauce

Celebrate Chinese New Year with this delicious and simple recipe for lamb kebab. Inspired by traditional Chinese flavours and ingredients, ditch the takeaway this weekend and try this dish instead!

Serves: 4    Prep Time: 2 ½ hours       Cooking Time: 16 minutes

You’ll need:

For the lamb kebabs

• 450g leg of lamb cut into 3cm dice
• 24 medium shallots peeled
• 8 bayleaves
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil for cooking
• 8 large wooden kebab sticks soaked in hot water to prevent them from burning in the cooking process

For the marinade

• 2 large oranges, rind grated and then juiced
• 1 lime, rind grated and then juiced
• 2tbsp sweet chilli sauce
• 2tbsp dark soy sauce
• 3tbsp hoisin sauce
• 1tbsp vegetable oil
• 1tbsp tomato ketchup
• 8 whole star anise
• 2 garlic cloves peeled and crushed into a paste
• Freshly ground black pepper

Dipping sauce to serve

• 1 red chilli diced finely without the seeds
• A handful of coriander finely chopped
• 1 tbsp of runny honey
• 1tbsp of dark soy sauce
• 1tbsp of light soy sauce
• A dash of sesame seed oil
• The juice of two limes

Method:

1. Mix together all the ingredients for the marinade stirring well.
2. Thread a bay leaf onto the first skewer and then alternate the shallots and the lamb onto the wooden skewer and repeat with all skewers. Lay the kebabs in a shallow dish and then pour over the marinade and leave to marinate for at least 2 hours, if possible overnight, in a fridge.
3. Heat a heavy based grill pan or a frying pan, drizzle with the oil, heat well then place the kebabs in the pan and fry on medium heat for 3 – 4 minutes on each side brushing the kebabs with remaining marinade throughout the cooking process. Take care not to have the heat too high or you will burn the marinade.
4. Meanwhile for the dipping sauce mix all the ingredients together.
5. Serve with a green salad, basmati rice and little pots of the dipping sauce.

Tips:

These kebabs can also be cooked on a barbeque and the lamb can be replaced with chicken beef or pork. For a vegetarian alternative you could use sweet potatoes, courgettes and peppers with the shallots.

Recipe courtesy of UK Shallots