Miso Marinated Lamb and Stir-fried Rice

Mr. Tess has been working away from home, in Florida and Virginia over most of the the winter—and he finally got home last night. I had planned a wonderful welcome-home a couple of days ago (including the deep-fried flank steak and green onions, which is now more or less leftovers, because the job kept him a bit longer than planned). So, while we had some festivities last night (and I’m not posting about those), I’m cooking some lamb chops for dinner tonight. Lamb makes a special meal for us as we rarely have it. The chops were on sale and I decided to cook them as the recipe for miso marinated steak I’ve made many times from my “project book.” Below is the recipe for two people so I don’t have to keep looking at the book, or the old post, and doing math to figure out the amounts to use. Yes, it’s only dividing the amounts in half but…

Miso Marinated Lamb
Ramu no Misozuke
page 460
serves 2
The Marinade:

• 3/8 cup akamiso (brown miso)
  or mix sweet white miso with brown miso for a lighter taste
• 2 Tablespoons (sweet cooking wine)”
• 2 Tablespoons sake (rice wine)
• 3/4 pound lamb chops (12 ounces)

Cooking:

• 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 Tablespoons mirin
• 1 Tablespoon reserved marinade

Stir-Fried Rice:

• 1-inch cube beef suet, or 1 Tablespoon butter
• 1/2 small onion, minced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 cups day-old cooked rice
• 10 shiso leaves, roughly chopped
  (I used a good handful of Chinese celery leaves, having no shiso;
  and some chopped sweet red pepper)
• salt, tamari, and freshly ground black pepper

In a medium bowl, combine the miso, mirin, and sake to make a soft paste. Spread 1/3 of the mixture in the bottom of a pan large enough to hold the steaks without overlapping. Place a dampened tightly woven cotton cloth over the miso then arrange the chops (steaks) on top. Cover them with another cotton cloth, and spread the remaining miso over. Seal with cling-wrap, and refrigerate for 5 hours to overnight.
Remove the cloth from the meat, and the meat from the pan, reserving the marinade. Use a kitchen towel to gently wipe away miso residue from the surface of the meat. (Don’t rinse with water.)
Heat a skillet, add the oil, and when it’s hot, brown the chops on one side. Shake the pan from time to time to be sure the meat is not sticking to the skillet. Reduce heat to low, and cook the steaks for 3 minutes. Turn the chops over, and brown on the second side. Continue cooking for 2 or 3 minutes, and check whether they are done. (1″ steak takes about 10 minutes for medium rare)
Remove the meat to a warmed plate and cover to keep it warm. Add the water and mirin to the skillet to deglaze the skillet. Add 1 Tablespoon of the reserved marinade, and cook, stirring over medium-low heat for 2 minutes.
Remove the skillet from the heat. And strain the mixture through a sieve lined with a cotton cloth, and transfer the sauce to a small saucepan. Cook the sauce until it is slightly thickened.
If you will be serving stir-fried rice with the meat, start the preparation while you are cooking the beef. Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and grease it with beef fat or butter. Add the onion, and cook it over medium-low heat until it is soft, about 5 to 8 minutes.
Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the rice, and break up any lumps with a wooden spatula. Cook the rice over medium-low heat, stirring all the time, 15 minutes. Stir in half the shiso, and season the rice with salt, tamari, and fresh-ground black pepper.
Cut the hot steaks into 1/2″ slices. Serve with the rice, drizzled with the sauce and garnished with the chopped shiso.

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