Ground Lamb with Ginger, Hoisin, and Green Onions
from Jim Barrick's Alcohol-Free Recipes
1 pound ground lamb
1 tablespoon Oriental sesame oil
2 tablespoons minced gingeroot
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon minced orange peel
1 green onion bunch, chopped
1/4 cup hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon cornstarch
Saute lamb in Wok (or large skillet) over high heat until cooked through, breaking up with spoon or spatula, about 5 minutes. Pour lamb with its juices into a colander; drain.
Heat sesame oil in same Wok over high heat. Add ginger, garlic and orange peel; stirring 30 seconds. Add green onions and stir-fry 1 minute. Add hoisin sauce and lamb to Wok; stir until blended.
Combine orange juice and cornstarch in small cup. Add orange juice/cornstarch mixture to Wok; stir until thickened, about 1 minute.
Serve with hot rice.
Notes: For some reason in the last few months, my local butcher (where I get the meat if I can afford to because it is really so much better than the stuff at the supermarket) has started carrying ground lamb. So, when the whim strikes me I've been picking up a pound and tossing it in the freezer to give me another choice for meals once in a while. It sure makes for an interesting alternative to ground beef. My previous attempt was Lebanese Baked Kibbeh, so I was looking for something completely different.
As for the website where I got this -- completely an accident of google as I never would have expected to find such an extensive collection of recipes on an insurance company web page. For those of you who keep track of such things, he declares a single serving of the above recipe to be worth 8 points.
In any case, this was relatively simple to make and has a really nice, if not particularly challenging, taste. I have to admit that after a few bites, I began to think it needed something to spice (or herb) it up. Any suggestions? Anything I can get from Penzey's is fair game.
Posted by Jennifer at April 27, 2004 10:24 AMIt's hard to think of something that would balance with the ginger, the orange and the hoisin sauce, but maybe a sze-chuan chili sauce for spice or maybe something nutty to bring depth--sesame seeds? Maybe some extra scallions, too. One bunch is never enough for us. :)
Part of me wants to suggest lemon grass, as well, but frankly, though I enjoy it in restaurants, I can never pull lemon grass off at home.
Posted by: Mer at April 28, 2004 9:42 AM