Lamb Ribs With Hoi Sin & Sesame Sauce
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 2.5 hours
Degree of difficulty: very easy
- 1.25kgs/2.8lbs. lamb ribs
- 100ml/3.5ozs hoi sin sauce
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 40ml/1.5ozs hoi sin sauce to glaze
- 2 tablespoons black and white sesame seeds
Creamed polenta
- 250g/8.8ozs. instant polenta
- 1 litre chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon salt
Step 1 - Mix the first lot of hoi sin sauce, garlic, brown sugar, ginger and sesame oil in a bowl. Place the ribs and the marinade in a zip lock bag and massage the sauce through the ribs making sure that the meaty side gets covered with sauce. Marinate the lamb ribs for an hour at room temperature.
Step 2 - Preheat oven to 150C/300F and line a deep baking tray twice with foil. Place the ribs on top of the foil and then cover with another sheet of foil (make sure that the foil doesn't touch the ribs or they'll stick). Bake for 2 hours if the ribs are separated or bake for 2.5 hours if attached.
Step 3 - Brush with the extra hoi sin sauce on the meaty side and sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake meaty side up without the foil covering at 180C/350F for 15 minutes or until caramelised.
Step 4 - When the ribs are done, cover again with foil and allow to rest. Make the polenta. Bring the stock to a boil in a large pot. Add the salt and dissolve and then add the polenta in a thin stream and stir to thicken making sure to break up any lumps. When it starts to pull away from the sides it is ready. Scoop onto a serving plate and place lamb ribs on top. I served this with a tomato, caper salad with parsley and mint but I loved this just with the polenta and ribs.
Personal Note
Speaking of unexpected surprises, I served these lamb ribs when Queen Viv came over for dinner. She had just arrived and we were all sitting down, having wine and canapes when suddenly Queen Viv made a sharp intake of breath followed by a ghastly strangled cry. Her eyes widened as she looked behind me and there was a look of sheer horror emblazoned on her face.
I have wondered what it's like to be in a horror movie and this was the moment I found out. I turned around expecting the absolute worst - like a Stranger Things style Demogorgon behind me.
So what was it that terrorised Queen Viv so much? It was my dear little taxidermied Mochi Elliott that sat on a shelf in the living room. I thought I had mentioned to her that I had taxidermied her but clearly I hadn't.
"Would you like to pet her?" I ask Queen Viv between gulps of laughter. My response was to collapse with laughter because to me Mochi is the least scary thing in the world.
"Nooo!!" she gasped clutching her chest.
Mochi used to sit in my office but there was a black mould problem so we moved her out to the living room near my desk set up. "She likes being in the lounge room so she can look over me," I said. "You just grieve how you want to," she said recovering quickly and smoothing down her skirt and wiping away tears of laughter.
So tell me Dear Reader, do you have a favourite lamb cut? When have you been the most frightened in your life? How did you react?