Easy Satay Lamb Chops 簡易沙嗲羊架 is an easy and fun way to enjoy lamb chops. Lamb chops are great for satay because they have a built-skewer. And satay sauce is one of my favorite dipping sauces. I love peanut butter, especially the crunchy ones! Serve this dish with rice, noodles, salad or fruit. It’s a great summer time dish when you want to minimize your time in the hot kitchen. I have a westward facing kitchen which is torture to cook on a hot summer day!
Authentic satay sauce can vary from region to region. The most popular ones are from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. Making any of them authentically can be a bit of a challenge if you live in the west. Especially if you live somewhere with few Asians. Some hard to get ingredients include lemongrass, galangal, tamarind and coconut sugar. My family doesn’t really like too many spices and so my minimized satay version is preferred over an authentic version. Even though it's "almost" a satay, it still has the crunchy texture from the peanuts, rich aroma from the coconut milk and just a slight tang from the tamarind paste.
It’s difficult to determine the actual origins of Satay but one popular theory is that Arab merchants shared their Kebab recipes with the locals in Southeast Asia. The locals started to skewer meats and grilled them on an open flame. They added local ingredients like lemongrass, galangal, tamarind and coconut sugar and made it their own.
The name “satay” is from the Chinese words 三塊 which sound like “sar tae” in Hokkien dialect. It means “3 pieces”. There was a significant Hokkien population living in Southeast Asia but they could not speak the local language. They saw that the skewers always had 3 pieces of meat on them and named it that. Before long, even the locals started using this term. And of course, the rest is history.
Although my Easy Satay Lamb Chops 簡易沙嗲羊架 is not very authentic, I think you’ll find that it still gets the job done with little effort and maximum results!
Craving for more of the satay flavour? Try my Hong Kong Satay Beef Noodles 沙爹牛肉麵! It's just you'd find at a Hong Kong cafe.
Easy Satay Lamb Chops 簡易沙嗲羊架
Ingredients
- 1 Rack of lamb , sliced between ribs
- 1 ½ tsp Salt
- ½ tsp Ground black pepper
- 1 tsp Garlic powder
- 1 tbsp Oil
Ingredients for satay sauce:
- 1 Large shallot
- 6 cloves Garlic
- 2 slices Ginger (minced if you like to eat ginger)
- 3 tbsp Crunchy peanut butter
- 1 tbsp Hoisin sauce
- 2 tbsp Brown sugar
- 1 tsp Dark soy sauce
- ¾ tsp Salt
- 2 tsp Tamarind paste (optional)
- 1 tbsp Chili paste (optional)
- 180 ml Coconut milk
- 2 tsp Oil
Instructions
- Mince shallot and garlic. Prepare 2 slices of ginger
- In a pot, turn heat on to medium-high. Add 2 tsp oil and add ginger. Fry until ginger turns golden colour
- Add minced shallots and garlic. Fry until aromatic. Turn heat down to medium
- Add 3 tbsp crunchy peanut butter, 1 tbsp hoisin sauce, 2 tbsp brown sugar, ¾ tsp salt, 2 tsp tamarind paste, 1 tbsp chili paste and 180 ml coconut milk. Bring to a boil and turn heat down to low. Cook for 5 minutes
- Taste test the satay sauce and make adjustments if necessary. Turn off heat and set aside
- Cut the rack of lamb between each rib into individual chops.
- Heat a pan using medium-high heat
- Rub both sides of each lamb chop with salt, garlic powder and ground black pepper
- Add 1-2 tbsp oil to the pan. Use 1 tbsp oil for non-stick pans and 2 tbsp for all other pans
- Fry lamb chops in the pan until your desired doneness. Frying time will depend on how thick your lamb chops are.
Mine were approx. 15mm thick and I fried each side for 2 minutes for medium done chops 
- Remove from heat
- Serve with satay sauce
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