Nonya lamb

Nonya lamb.
Nonya lamb. Photo: Marina Oliphant
Dietary
Dairy-free

This hot and spicy dish can be made with beef instead of lamb or - my favourite - prawns and fish. To substitute prawns and fish, first fry the seafood in the wok in some peanut oil until almost cooked, then remove and follow the recipe. Serve with steamed rice.

Ingredients

Title:Sambal

300g brown onion, thinly sliced

20g garlic, sliced

100g dried shrimp

100g fresh chilli, seeds removed and roughly chopped

80g dried chilli, chopped

50g shrimp paste

1 cup peanut oil

Title:Lamb

400g lamb, use a cut such as the rump trimmed of fat and sliced thinly

1 egg, beaten

2 tsp cornflour

a good dash Worcestershire sauce

1 heaped tsp Keen's Mustard Powder

Title:Stir-fry

1 brown onion, thinly sliced

1 small red and 1 small green capsicum, cut into about 3cm square pieces

1 lemongrass stalk, white part only, thinly sliced

peanut oil for frying

4-5 tbsp sambal paste (depending on how hot you like it)

1 tsp dried shrimp

1/4 cup fresh curry leaves (if available)

Method

For the sambal

Put all the ingredients into a blender and blend to a smooth paste.

Heat a wok with the peanut oil and add the paste. Cook over a medium/low heat for about 10 minutes stirring frequently, or until the onion and garlic no longer taste raw.

Placed in a sealed container, this sambal paste will keep for weeks in the fridge and is enough for two or three serves.

For the lamb

Mix all the ingredients and marinate lamb for 30 minutes.

For the stir fry

Prepare all the vegetables and have ready.

Heat a wok with a few tablespoons of peanut oil until very hot, then add the onion and capsicum and stir-fry for a few minutes until wilted. Remove to a plate.

Heat the wok again with a few tablespoons of peanut oil until very hot.

Add the lamb and cook for a minute until seared, then add the sambal and all the other ingredients. Fry briefly, stirring so that all the flavours are combined and the lamb is just cooked.

Serve at once.