For a special occasion, I needed a special menu. I wanted something out of the ordinary, full of flavor and frankly, something slightly difficult to prepare to express my culinary creativity. After doing some research on the Internet, and modifying a few recipes that I uncovered, I came up with this menu. There are one or two things that I would do differently were I to prepare this menu again, which I have actually incorporated into this recipe. I served this with my Asian Napa Slaw, which is a repeat from an earlier recipe, Asian Pork Pot Roast with Napa Slaw. You can click on the link to get it and I shan't present it again in this post.
Ingredients
For the lamb chops
8 ea loin lamb chops, cut 1-inch thick
2 tbsp minced garlic
1 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 cup all-natural creamy peanut butter (no additives, especially any added sugar)
3 tbsp Thai red curry paste (like, Thai Kitchen)
2 tbsp Asian Oyster sauce (like, Lee Kum Kee)
2 tbsp ketchup
4 tbsp fresh lime juice
2 tbsp light soy sauce
2 packs Splenda
2 tbsp peanut oil, plus 4 tbsp for cooking
1/4 cup rice wine
1/4 cup very hot water
Ingredients
For the Panko potato pancakes
3-4 medium to large Russet potatoes, peeled and diced, so that you'll have about 3 cups of cooked, mashed potatoes
1/2 cup green onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped
2 eggs
1 cup all purpose flour
4 cups Japanese Panko breadcrumbs (like, Kikkoman)
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 stick butter
2 tbsp peanut oil
The Recipes
First, prepare the potatoes:
Place the peeled, diced potatoes in a large pot with 3-4 quarts of cold, salted water, then put over high heat. Bring to a bowl and cook the potatoes until fork tender, about 25-30 minutes. Drain through a colander. Return the drained potatoes to the pot, and allow them to steam cool for at least thirty minutes.
While the potatoes are cooling, make the Thai peanut sauce and prepare the lamb:
In a large mixing bowl, put in the garlic, cilantro, parsley, peanut butter, curry paste, oyster sauce, ketchup, lime juice, soy sauce, Splenda and two tablespoons of the peanut oil. Mix well to combine and evenly distribute all the ingredients into a thick paste. Laying the loin lamb chops on their ends, evenly apply a small coat of the Thai peanut paste to each side of the meat, being careful not to place the meat side down. Be sure to evenly coat each side of the chop, but apply a thin coating; applied too thick and it will burn.
Next, prepare and begin to cook the the potato pancakes:
Once the potatoes have totally cooked, dry them if any liquid remains using paper towels. Try to extract as much moisture from them as you can. Using a hand-held potato masher, mash the potatoes until no lumps remain, and then turn them out into a large mixing bowl. Add the parsley, cilantro, green onion, both eggs, salt and pepper, and half the flour. Mix well with a large mixing spoon to evenly distribute all ingredients. Then, begin to add the remaining flour a little at a time until the potato "dough" draws up into a ball.
On a flat surface lined with wax paper, sprinkle a little flour on the surface and spoon out 1/4 of the potato dough. Pat it to an evenly flat, round pancake, about the size of a typical hamburger patty. It should be about a half-inch thick.
Pour one cup of the Panko bread crumbs onto a paper plate, and press the potato pancake into the crumbs on both sides. Evenly coat the entire pancake in the bread crumbs, including the edges. Place the pancake on a clean sheet of wax paper on a flat surface, and repeat with the remaining potato dough until you have four pancakes. Allow the pancakes to sit for 15-30 minutes before beginning to cook them. The Panko crumbs will "set" and additional moisture within the pancake will evaporate or be absorbed by the bread crumbs.
Then, start cooking the pancakes and the lamb while finishing the peanut sauce:
The pancakes will take longer to cook than the lamb, so begin by melting the butter over medium high heat in a saute pan large enough to hold all four pancakes. When the butter has melted, add the peanut oil. When the oil is hot, place all four pancakes into the the pan, and turn the heat to medium. If your heat is too high, the bread crumbs will burn. Cook fifteen minutes before turning. While the pancakes are cooking on their first side before turning them, heat up the remaining peanut oil over medium high heat in another skillet large enough to accommodate all eight loin chops that has a tight-fitting lid.
In the meantime, turn the pancakes over. They should be golden brown, crusty and have firmed up considerably since putting them in the oil. Then, place the chops in the hot oil and cover the skillet.
Cook the pancakes another fifteen minutes, and they should be done. This allows you enough time to cook the lamb chops, covered, eight minutes on each side.
Now, make the sauce and finish the dish:
Heat up the rice wine in a sauce pan and bring to a boil to burn off the alcohol. Add the hot water, and then whisk in the peanut paste to turn it into a rich, savory sauce. When both the pancakes and the lamb chops are finished cooking, place two chop around one pancake, and then spoon the sauce over and around the food. Serve with Asian Napa slaw.
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