Asian Style Lamb Shank Soup

When it's winter, I Iove to make this soup. I always make it with lamb shank since lamb shank is probably one of the leanest part of the lamb so the broth is rich enough but not fatty! However, fat also means flavor! So I supplemented that with 1/2 tsp of hon dashi, or you can use Asian chicken stock to add some extra flavor.

Ingredients:

3 lamb shanks

Half of a large onion

4-5 slices of ginger

4-5 dry bay leaves

1 1/2 tsp of fennel seeds

1 tsp of sichuan pepper corn

1 tsp of white pepper corn

1/2 tsp of hon dashi

3-4 tea spoon of salt to taste

few sprigs of cilantro

Use a pot of cold water, add the lamb shank in, medium fire until the water begins to boil. Then pour the water away, and wash the lamb shank. Add the lamb back to the pot, and then use enough water to cover the lamb, add in onion, ginger and bay leaves. Once the water boils, add in the seasoning and hon dashi. Let it boil vigorously and then cover it and turn to simmer for 1.5 hour. When it's an hour, open the lid and check on the doneness of the lamb. When you see the lamb start to pull away from the bones, then you are almost there. This is also a good time to adjust the salt level. Alternatively you can also cook with a pressure cooker, that will save you some gas! :)

Once it's cooked, you have a flavorful lamb broth base. I added some shitaki mushroom and napa cabbage to it, used a separate pot and cooked some asian style noodles, and add the broth, lamb, and vege to the noodles. Or you can simply just drink the broth with lamb and some cilantro on top!

Bon appetite!