Vietnamese lamb shanks with sweet potatoes

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons Ground Nut Oil
• 4 Lamb Shanks
• 2 Onion
• 2 tbs chopped Ginger
• 3 sliced thinly Garlic Clove
• 1 chopped Red Chilli
• 1 sliced Red Chilli
• 1 tablespoon Brown Sugar
• 1 tsp Brown Sugar
• 3 Star Anise
• 2 Lemongrass Stalks
• 1L Lamb Stock
• 1 ½ tbsp Tomato Puree
• 4 Sweet Potatoes
• 2 tablespoons Fish Sauce
• Juice of 2 Lime
• Handful Mint
• Handful Basil Leaves

Quantities are the original recipe’s. The cost is our own estimate — typical own-brand supermarket prices for these quantities, divided by 4 servings. TheMealDB does not state how many a dish serves, so 4 is our assumption, not theirs. Treat it as “about this much a head”, not a shopping bill.

Method

1. Set the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3.
2. Warm half the oil in a heavy casserole and brown the seasoned shanks in two batches, adding the rest of the oil as needed, then set the meat aside.
3. Add the onions to the pot and fry briskly for about 30 seconds, then stir in the ginger, garlic and chopped chilli and cook gently for a minute.
4. Mix in the tablespoon of sugar, then add the star anise, lemongrass, stock, tomato puree and some seasoning, and bring everything to the boil.
5. Cover the casserole and transfer it to the oven for 1½ hrs.
6. Tuck in the sweet potatoes and return to the oven for a further 1 hr, until the lamb is so tender it is nearly falling from the bone.
7. Off the heat, swirl through the fish sauce, lime juice and the remaining teaspoon of sugar to brighten the sauce.
8. Finish with the mint, basil and sliced chilli scattered over the top before serving.

These steps were written by StreetOwl from the original recipe, in British English, with every oven temperature and cooking time checked against the source. They are not the original author’s words. If anything reads oddly, the original is linked below and it wins.