Recipe & Video: Japanese inspired Mint Marinated Lamb Chop Steaks

American-style lamb chops meet Japanese flavors like kombucha and mustard mayonnaise in this fusion dish that will impress friends and family. Use our easy-to-follow recipe and video to create the perfect marinade and rich umami flavor.

Contributed by Naoko’s Kitchen

This is a classic American favorite, lamb chop steaks, with a Japanese twist that adds flavor and spice in brand new way. A perfect entree to serve at your holiday dinner party, this recipe utilizes unique flavors from Japanese food culture, such as kombucha and mustard soy sauce mayonnaise, to give it a umami kick. Let our easy-to-follow recipe teach you how to prepare this awesome Japanese fusion right at home. And get ready for the applause from friends and family!

Japanese Kombucha vs. US Kombucha

Japanese kombucha really isn’t anything like the popular American kombucha made from a fermented mushroom. Japanese kombucha is kombu kelp seasoning, which is what kombu-cha literally means, and it has a long history of use in Japanese culture and traditions. This kombucha powder is the secret to giving a special Japanese taste bud blast to this lamb chop dish.

Kombu itself is a thick, hearty seaweed sold dried and used to give strong umami flavor to a wide variety of dishes in Japanese food culture. Kombu is also one of the main ingredients in dashi stock, the broth that makes up the base for miso soup and many other traditional Japanese food recipes. Adding it to a meat dish, like we do here, gives the dish a much richer flavor profile. It will definitely have your guests clamoring for seconds.

Mastering the Art of the Marinade

Another secret to authentic Japanese recipes is the marinade, which serves two functions. Marinating meat not only imparts the special flavors of the spices and herbs in the marinade to the meat, but it makes the meat more tender as well. Traditional Japanese recipes usually call for a soy-sauce-based marinade, but for this special fusion dish, we are going with a honey and sea salt base instead. This will give the lamb chop steaks a glazed look. It also adds both sweet and salty flavors to the finished product. Make sure to marinate the lamb all night long to make the most out of it. And then save the marinade sauce to use later when you’re cooking the lamb.

Tips for Plate Presentation

• In Japanese food culture, the visual aesthetics of plating and presentation are always just as important as the taste of the food. Here are some simple tips to make this Japanese fusion lamb chop dish as visually amazing as it can be.
• Choose colorful ingredients: Some vivid and vitamin-rich colors are effective when it comes to pleasing people’s eyes and stimulating their appetite.
• Place different sizes of lamb on the plate. Allow your plate to be more original and unique (and make sure you’re not eating too much!).

 

Meet Naoko’s Kitchen

Naoko’s Kitchen is brought to you by Japanese cook and Culinary Artist Naoko Kashiwagi who is living in the UK. Naoko has been sharing her authentic taste, knowledge, and skills of Japanese food by hosting pop-ups and Japanese cooking classes in Cornwall, UK. More than a thousand foodies from all over the world have participated in her informative and hands-on classes. They all enjoyed the entertainment of her exquisite dishes!

Naoko’s Kitchen is the first authentic Japanese pop-ups in Cornwall. This style allows her to collaborate with a lot of local businesses aiming at supporting each other as well. Her mission is simple. To entertain the customers with authentic Japanese flavors by adding subtle European twists to create innovative dishes.

Its concept promises to create family favorites using the freshest local seafood and seasonal ingredients with Naoko’s imagination and creativity. She creates a dish mixing authenticity with innovation for your taste buds and eyes.

Ingredients

• 2 Lambchop Steaks
• 1 Tbsp Sea Salt
• 2 Tbsp Butter

Marinade

• 1 stalk Celery
• 1 clove Garlic
• 1 Onion
• 2 stem Fresh Mint Leaves
• A pinch of Sea Salt
• 1/3 tsp Honey

Mustard Mayo

• 1 Tbsp Mayonnaise
• 1 tsp Mustard
• 1/3 tsp Soy Sauce

Garnishment

• 1 tsp Sunflower Oil
• ½ Red pepper, chopped
• 1 Tbsp Kobucha (Kombu Kelp Powder Seasoning)
• 3 Mint Leaves, deep fried
• Broccoli, boiled
• Baby Corn, boiled

Instructions

Make the marinade

1. Put celery, garlic, onion, mint leaves, sea salt, and honey in a food processor and make a paste.
2. Apply 1 tablespoon of sea salt over the lamb chop steak.
3. Marinate the lamb into the mixture for overnight.

Make garnish

1. Put 1 tsp of Sunflower oil in the frying pan and stir fry the red pepper on high heat for 1 minute.
2. Remove peppers from the pan. Marinate them with Kombu-cha powder in a small bowl.
3. Prepare mint leaves, broccoli, and baby corn.

Make mustard mayo

1. Put the mayonnaise, mustard and soy sauce in a small bowl and combine well. Set it aside.

Grill the lamb steaks

1. Remove the lamb from the marinade (keep the marinade for later use).
2. Heat up the frying pan over high heat. Add butter and melt.
3. Add lamb steaks and grill them for 4 minutes.
4. Flip the lamb over and grill another side for additional 4 minutes.
5. Transfer the steaks to a clean kitchen towel and remove excessive oil.
6. Pour the marinade in the same frying pan and add a pinch of sea salt and bring to boil.
7. Simmer until the sauce is reduced to one third.

Make a plate presentation

1. Place three round cookie cutters on the plate and apply the mustard mayo using a kitchen brush.
2. Place the sliced lamb on each circle and place the marinade sauce on top.
3. Put the broccoli, baby corns, and red pepper nicely around the plate.
4. Sprinkle some sea salt for an additional touch.