Lamb & Pine Nut Stir-Fry
Submitted by ktjossem
Lamb and pine nut stir-fry done in the microwave with oyster sauce, ginger, bok choy, and toasted pine nuts. A 25-minute Chinese-style dinner for two using a microwave browning dish for hands-off searing.
YIELD
2 servingsPREP
15 minCOOK
12 minREADY
27 minThis lamb and pine nut stir-fry uses a microwave browning dish, a piece of cookware popular in the 1980s and still useful today for getting genuine sear without firing up the wok. The browning dish heats to high temperatures and gives the lamb strips a quick caramelized crust in under two minutes.
The partial-freeze trick is the technique to know. A lamb leg or shoulder set in the freezer for thirty minutes firms up enough to slice paper-thin against the grain. Try slicing room-temperature meat that thin and you end up with mangled chunks instead of clean strips.
Oyster sauce, ginger, and chicken bouillon thicken into a glossy pan sauce that clings to the lamb and vegetables. The cornstarch slurry is what gives the sauce its glaze-like cling. Without it, you’d have a watery mess pooling on the rice.
Toasted pine nuts are the finishing flourish. Their butteriness plays against the savory oyster sauce and adds crunchy contrast to the silky lamb and tender bok choy. Don’t skip the toasting; raw pine nuts taste flat.
Pro Tips
- No microwave browning dish? Use a hot skillet on the stove for the lamb step. Sear over high heat for about 90 seconds.
- Buy lamb from the leg or sirloin for tender strips. Shoulder works but contains more connective tissue and benefits from longer cooking.
- Keep the bok choy crisp-tender. Overcooked bok choy loses its texture and turns slimy.
Variations
- Substitute beef sirloin or pork tenderloin if lamb isn’t available.
- Add a teaspoon of Sichuan peppercorns for a numbing-spicy variation.
- Swap pine nuts for cashews or peanuts for a different nutty profile.
Ingredients
Directions
Partially freeze lamb. Thinly slice into bite-size strips.
In a 2-cup measure stir together ⅓ cup water, oyster sauce, cornstarch, grated gingerroot, and chicken bouillon granules.
Micro-cook, uncovered, on 100% of power for 1½ to 2 minutes or until thickened and bubbly, stirring every 30 seconds.
Set aside. In a small nonmetal bowl combine bok choy, sliced mushrooms, and 2 tablespoon water.
Cover with vented clear plastic wrap.
Micro-cook, covered, on 100% power 3 to 4 minutes or until bok choy is just crisp-tender.
Drain. Cover and set aside. Preheat a 1½-inch microwave browning dish on 100% power for 3 minutes.
Add cooking oil to browning dish.
Swirl to coat dish. Add lamb strips. Micro-cook, covered, on 100% power for 1½ to 1½ minutes or until lamb is done.
Drain off fat.
Stir in oyster sauce mixture with toasted pine nuts and bok choy mixture.
Serve over hot cooked rice if desired.
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