Name: Crispy Mongolian lamb
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 3 h
Total time: 4 h
Yield: 2
Cuisine: Asian
Ingredients: 1 breast of lamb about 750g; thumb-size piece ginger; 2 garlic cloves crushed; 6 tbsp dark soy sauce; 1 tbsp Chinese five-spice powder; 150ml Shaohsing rice wine; 2 tbsp soft light brown sugar; 1 round lettuce leaves separated; 3 spring onions cut into finger-length pieces then shredded; ¼ cucumber cut into matchsticks

1 breast of lamb
about 750g
thumb-size piece ginger
2 garlic cloves
crushed
6 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tbsp Chinese five-spice powder
150ml Shaohsing rice wine
2 tbsp soft light brown sugar

To serve

1 round lettuce
leaves separated
3 spring onions
cut into finger-length pieces then shredded
¼ cucumber
cut into matchsticks

Method

step 1
Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Put the lamb in a casserole dish with a lid. Add remaining ingredients plus enough water to just cover. Cook with the lid on for 3 hrs until the meat is tender and the bones pull out easily. Allow to cool still covered in the cooking liquid with the lid on. You can do this 1-2 days in advance and let the lamb cool completely in the fridge. This will make the next step easier.
step 2
When cold, lift the lamb out of the liquid and transfer to a baking tray. Skim fat from the sauce. Reserve half the sauce for the noodles (in 'Try' section, below) and bubble the rest, still in the pan, until thick and syrupy. Pour into a small serving bowl. Heat grill to medium and grill lamb until crisp and hot through, but not too dark.
step 3
Shred the lamb, discarding most of the fat and all the bones, but keep the nice, crisp skin. You can cut the skin off first and leave it in a hot oven while you shred the rest of the meat. To serve, take everything to the table and eat the lamb rolled up in the lettuce leaves with the cucumber, spring onions and sauce, plus the noodles on the side.