Try this Chinese-style braised lamb cooked in a savory sauce with very simple seasonings until tender and juicy. It will have everyone asking for seconds! Serve it over steamed rice for a special dinner, or enjoy them throughout the week as meal prep.
Growing up in Northern China, one of my favorite dishes from my grandma was red braised lamb. Like Red Braised Pork (Hong Shao Rou), this recipe uses a few simple pantry ingredients to create a comforting and satisfying meal with simple steps.
This recipe sears the lamb until golden crispy to seal the juice and umami. It is then braised in a deeply savory, soy sauce-based broth with aromatics, in order to eliminate the gamey taste yet bring out the great flavor of the lamb. Once done, the lamb is buttery tender and coated with a rich, sticky sauce that goes perfectly with steamed rice. This dish takes some time to cook, but it involves very little active cooking time, making it a great dish to cook on the weekend.
Red-braised lamb ingredients
What cut of lamb to use
The best cut of lamb for braised lamb is well-marbled lamb meat that has some fat to it. Because the fat will keep the meat extra tender and juicy while cooking, and it will melt into the sauce at the end for a very delicious finish.
In this recipe I used lamb stew meat, which is one of the cheapest and most accessible ways to cook this dish in the US. Other great cuts of lamb include boneless lamb leg, bone-in lamb stew meat, and lamb breast.
In China, we often use lamb ribs to make this dish. It’s not a cut I often see in the US, but please do try to cook with it if you can find the cut. It’s one of the best cuts to make braised lamb because lamb rib meat is super flavorful.
Mise en place
Red braised lamb uses a few simple pantry ingredients to make a very rich and delicious sauce while bringing out the taste of the lamb.
When you’re making braised lamb, you don’t even need to portion out everything in small bowls like I’ve shown in the picture below. You can simply add the seasonings as you go when the lamb is simmering.
How to cook red-braised lamb
Cooking red braised lamb is simple and straightforward:
- Brown the lamb
- Saute the aromatics to release the fragrance
- Add the water and bring to a boil
- Skim and discard the foam from the top
- Add the seasonings and braise for 30 minutes
- Remove the aromatics and spices in big pieces
- Add the rest of the seasonings and braise for another 30 minutes
- Reduce the sauce for 20 minutes or so
The best pan for red braised lamb
I like to use a wok to make braised meat because:
- It browns the meat better
- You can use less water to cover the meat due to the shape of the wok
- It reduces the sauce more efficiently
That being said, it’s totally OK to use a dutch oven or a large deep skillet to make this dish.
If you use a dutch oven, you will probably need more time to reduce the sauce because you’ll need more water initially. Also, due to the shape of the pot, it is more difficult to stir the meat at the end (to prevent it from sticking). When I use a dutch oven to make red braised dishes, I usually braise the meat until it is fully done, transfer the meat into a large bowl, then reduce the sauce by itself.
The correct heat for red braising
The most important thing for Chinese red braising (红烧) is to keep the heat quite high (usually medium or slightly lower than medium while keeping the pan covered), so the broth is constantly at a rapid boil. This way, the fat from the meat will be melting into the broth and become emulsified in it, making the sauce rich and sticky at the end. It is quite different from Western-style braised dishes, where you keep the broth at a simmer in order to create a clear broth.
If you do not use enough heat, the braised lamb will still be very delicious served with the sauce. The sauce will come out thinner, with a layer of fat on top, which can be skimmed and removed before serving.
The timing of sauce reduction
For red braising, the other important thing is to reduce the sauce at the end. You want to time it in the way that the lamb is mostly ready, but might need a little bit more cooking time. Then you will use a much higher heat to bring the broth to a full boil while keeping the pan uncovered. During this process, you need to watch the pan closely and keep scooping the lamb from the bottom. The sauce will be reduced very quickly at the end. The sugar will start to caramelize, bubbling a lot and turning the broth to a reddish brown color.
The most important thing is to reduce the sauce just enough that it thinly coats the meat. You should lower the heat to check on the sauce if needed. The sauce will keep thickening once it has cooled off slightly. If you reduce the sauce too much, you will have very little sauce left to serve.
How to serve red braised lamb
My favorite way to serve red braised lamb is over steamed white rice. But you can serve it over boiled noodles as well. The lamb is savory and goes with other sides too, such as baked potatoes, steamed vegetables, pasta and more. It’s even a great dish to serve for celebratory occasions as one of the main dishes during a multi-course dinner, such as Chinese New Year. It is a dish that can be cooked ahead of time and heated up and enjoyed later, so it’s also perfect for meal prep.
Other delicious stew and braised dishes
- Chinese Braised Pork Trotters (红烧猪蹄)
- Instant Pot Curry Beef Stew
- Coca-Cola Chicken Wings (可乐鸡翅)
- Braised Chestnut Chicken (板栗炖鸡)
- Chinese Braised Beef Shank (酱牛肉, Jiang Niu Rou)
Chinese Red Braised Lamb (红烧羊肉)
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
- 2 lb (900 g) lamb stew meat (or lamb leg) , cubed into large bite-size pieces
- 4 green onions , sliced to 2” (5 cm) pieces
- 1 thumb ginger , sliced
- 2 dried Chinese chili peppers
- 1/4 teaspoon Sichuan peppercorns (optional)
- 1/4 cup Shaoxing wine
- 4 tablespoons light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon rock sugar (or 1 teaspoon white sugar)
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (Skip if not serving with rice)
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large wok (or dutch oven) until hot. Add the lamb pieces without overlapping. You might need to cook in two batches. Brown the lamb until the bottom turns golden brown. Flip to brown the other side. Once both sides are browned, transfer the lamb to a large plate and set aside.
- Your pan should still have some oil. If not, add 1/2 tablespoon of oil. Add the green onion, ginger, chili pepper and Sichuan peppercorn. Stir a few times to release the fragrance.
- Pour 6 cups of water into the pan, or until most of the lamb pieces are covered (*Footnote 1). Scrape the bottom to release any brown bits. Add the Shaoxing wine. Cook over medium-high heat until boiling. Add back the lamb. Keep boiling the lamb while using a skimmer to skim and discard the foam from the surface until the broth is clear, 10 to 15 minutes.
- Cover the pan and turn to medium or medium-low heat, so the broth is boiling rapidly (less intensely than a full boil, but much more than simmering). Cook for 30 minutes.
- Uncover the pan. Add the light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, rock sugar and salt. Cover the pan and keep cooking for 30 to 40 minutes or so, until the lamb turns tender. You can use a paring knife to poke through the lamb to test. The fatty pieces should be pierced through without resistance, but the lean pieces should be tender-ish but might need a bit more cooking. (*Footnote 2)
- Uncover the pan and turn to medium-high or high heat for a full boil, to reduce and thicken the sauce. Boil for 20 minutes or so, scoop the meat from the bottom occasionally at the beginning and constantly at the end to prevent it from sticking, until the sauce has thickened enough to thinly coat the lamb. You can lower the heat from time to time, to check on the sauce without overcooking. The sauce will thicken more once it cools down slightly, so be careful not to reduce it too much.
- Once done, turn off the heat and transfer everything to a large plate. Serve as a main dish over steamed rice with vegetables sides, or by itself.
Notes
- If using a dutch oven or large pot, you probably need more water to cover the lamb. It will slightly change the time you’ll need to reduce the sauce.
- The lean pieces will be cooked further while you reduce the sauce. However, if you use a dutch oven, it will be more difficult to reduce the sauce due to the shape of the pan (takes longer, and it’s harder to flip the meat to prevent it from burning). In this case, you can choose to braise the lamb longer until it reaches the desired texture, remove it from the pot, then reduce the sauce by itself.
I did this last night with whole lamb shanks, using a bit more sauce and turning them every 5 min or so to ensure all parts of the meat were regularly covered. The whole family loved it… will definitely cook again. Like any recipe I tried from your website, it’s easily done in a Western kitchen with Western ingredients. Thank you so much for bringing Chinese flavours beyond the take-aways to my world.
So happy to hear that you enjoyed the dish and thanks for leaving a positive review 🙂