Asian Style Grilled Lamb Chops with Herb Sauce & Slaw

This is a great dish for a warm spring evening where I’ve marinated forequarter lamb chops in a Vietnamese-style marinade, grilled it on my barbeque and served it with a fresh slaw, freshly cooked jasmine rice and last but not least a zingy and slightly sweet Asian herb sauce!

I created this recipe inspired by a few different things:

1. By the way my parents would cook and marinate their lamb chops, which was always using a mix of garlic and lemongrass, and using Vietnamese fish sauce instead of salt which adds a greater depth of flavour than salt, especially for a protein like lamb that really needs it. If you know me, you know I love using fish sauce as my salt. P.S. I added some of my chilli oil to the marinade too because you know that’s how I roll.
2.  My love for fresh Asian herbs like Vietnamese mint, coriander, Thai basil and wanting to showcase them alongside such a great cut of lamb for spring. So not only did I feature them in my slaw, but also decided to make them the hero in an ‘asian salsa-verde style’ herb sauce. Think the classic pairing of lamb with mint, but make it Asian!

In terms of the lamb, make sure you allow at least an hour for the marinade to soak in but ideally marinade it overnight in the fridge for maximum flavour. In terms of cooking the lamb, you can do this on a griddle pan, fry pan, skillet or even outside on your barbeque which is what I did.

In terms of the slaw, you can use Nuoc Cham (Vietnamese Dipping Sauce) as a quick salad dressing if you have already made some. However if you don’t have this on hand, I’ve shared a quick asian-style dressing with palm sugar, fish sauce, lemon juice, chilli oil and red onions.

Finally, I decided to serve this with rice because I grew up always eating grilled lamb chops with rice and especially in this recipe I think it’s perfect for soaking up all that fresh herb sauce.

Serves- 4-6
Ingredients- 18
Cooking time- 1 hour
Skill level- Easy

Ingredients

• 8 forequarter lamb chops
• 3-4 cups of freshly cooked jasmine rice

Marinade

• 6 cloves of garlic
• 2 stalks of lemongrass
• 3 tablespoons of fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons of white sugar
• 2 teaspoons of dry Chilli flakes or the flakes from my chilli oil
• 2-3 tablespoons of vegetable oil

Slaw

• ½ of a napa cabbage, thinly shredded
• 2 carrots, thinly sliced into batons
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons of sesame seeds, toasted
• 2-3 stalks of your choice of Asian herbs: Vietnamese Mint, Coriander recommended. Reserve the rest of your herb bunches for the herb sauce below.
• 4-5 tablespoons of Vietnamese Dipping Sauce for the dressing. If you don't have it, you can opt for a quick and easy Asian dressing:
• 2 tablespoons of palm sugar
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tablespoon of fish sauce
• A pinch of dry chilli flakes or dressing

Herb Sauce

• The juice and zest of 2 lemons
• Your choice of Asian herbs leftover from the bunches from the slaw
• 2 stalks of spring onions
• 1 tablespoon of fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 2 teaspoons of chilli, vegetable or sesame oil

Method

1. Firstly, marinate 8 chops ahead of time so the chops have time to soak up all the flavour. Place 2 stalks of lemongrass into a food processor and blend until you get fine sawdust like pieces of lemongrass. Then add in the rest of your marinade ingredients ( 3 tablespoons of fish sauce
   2 tablespoons of white sugar, 2 teaspoons of dry Chilli flakes, 2-3 tablespoons of vegetable oil) until you have a smooth paste.
2. Tip the marinade all over your lamb chops in a tray and use your hands to massage it into the chops, making sure all surfaces are evenly covered. Cover with cling wrap and place into the fridge overnight or allow to marinate for a few hours on your kitchen bench. Remove from the fridge approximately 2 hours before grilling so that the lamb meat can come back up to room temperature.
3. Cook your rice 30 minutes before serving. 
4. Next prepare your slaw whilst your rice is cooking. Thinly shred ½ of a napa cabbage and thinly slice 2 carrots into small batons (julienned) and place into a bowl. Thinly slice 2-3 stalks of your choice of Asian herbs and add to the bowl. Then toast 3 tablespoons of sesame in a pan on medium heat for about 5 minutes or until golden brown. Place into a bowl and set aside until you’re ready to dress your salad.
5. For the slaw dressing, if you have made my Vietnamese Dipping Sauce, you can use that as instant salad dressing with thinly sliced red onion, but if you haven’t made that sauce, place 2 tablespoons of palm sugar into a bowl with a tablespoon of water and microwave for 30 seconds or until melted. Then add in the juice of 1 lemon, 1 tablespoon of fish sauce and 2 teaspoons of chilli oil or 1 teaspoon of dried chilli flakes. Add in your thinly sliced red onion, mix to combine and set aside.
6. Next prepare your Asian herb sauce by placing all sauce ingredients (The juice and zest of 2 lemons, Your choice of Asian herbs leftover from the bunches from the slaw, 2 stalks of spring onions, 1 tablespoon of fish sauce, 1 tablespoon of sugar, Salt & pepper to taste, 2 teaspoons of chilli oil, vegetable or sesame oil)into your food processor and blending until a smooth pesto like sauce forms. If the sauce is a little too thick, add some water or lemon juice to thin it out. Place into a bowl and set aside in the fridge. This can be made the day before if you prefer to prep it in advance.
7. To cook your chops, you can cook these in a griddle pan, skillet or even outdoor barbeque. Simply cook on each side for about 7 minutes or until your lamb is fully cooked, caramelized and the fat has rendered down.
8. Just before you serve the chops, mix your dressing and toasted sesame seeds into your slaw and mix until the slaw is fully coated.
9. Serve lamb hot with the herb sauce drizzled on top and with rice and slaw on the side.