Hot dang! Northern China lamb & aubergine skewers with spiced buttermilk dressing

Just because its been snowing outside and your bones are shivering to an ill planned tap dance mess, doesn't mean we should say no to all the things that remind you of summer. There is nothing better than toasting yourself under a giant rug with a tub of ice cream (thank god we're over January and all the promise of healthy eating) when its freezing outside, or, when I'm out in HK, cooling down with a sweet condensed milk hot tea. Barbecues and grilling also works to this rule - it shouldn't just be synonymous with summer BBQ's and rooftop parties (ha, like I actually go to rooftop parties). 

Northern China's cuisine is amazing. Full of flavour and spice, it sometimes borders on the spice palates of middle eastern dishes and aromas. These lamb skewers are perfect for a winter salad or with a shovel sized portion of saucy noodles. For now, I've put this dish with a buttermilk ranch to give it a smack of cooling freshness to the spice of the lamb. I've been trying to cut down on carbs recently (a phase, I'm sure) so actually the skewers were alternated with aubergine to give a bit more variety and so you can actually just eat these as is and without a bowl of rice (a phase, let me repeat). 

The secret to this is in the marinating and the cut of meat you choose. The longer the marinate time, the better. The fattier the meat, the better. In some restaurants, skewers of lamb are alternated with chunks of fat that melt in your mouth. As much as that appeals, it sort of cancels out being any kind of good with the no carbs thing... but if you use lamb shoulder, it's a nice in between. In Hong Kong, lamb is a real treat - it's not used much in cooking as its not readily available, unless you're willing to fork out for some New Zealand expensive exports. So, something a little different out the normal HK diner repertoire for you all.

This week I've been out in Morzine skiing - wonderful snow and my one week of heavenly cheese and big dinners wonderfully cooked by chalet hosts Dot and Chris from Mountain Spaces. Their skill in cooking for 15 idiots a hot breakkie, afternoon cake and then a 4 course meal every day was astounding. I'm still salivating over the thought of the chocolate cake, confit de canard and the mountain of dauphinoise the group inhaled (not to mention unlimited wines). One night there were Asian chicken skewers...and I had to admit, I was a little doubtful I'd put my judgemental Asian food blogger hat on..but it was amazing. And it made me remember I had never written this bad boy recipe up for lamb skewers. It must be done!

Nobu: the black cod-father

This is a warning. You need two days for this recipe. There is nothing I hate more than getting all your ingredients in and proceeding with the first few steps to find you haven't read through the recipe. That sneaky "leave to marinate overnight" or "set aside to rise for four hours"... bastard, wily instructions.

As prestigious as Nobu's dish is (and as glorious as black cod is), please don't find the price tag, reputation and the amount of time it takes to make, intimidating. It's surprisingly simple and it really only takes a few steps to actually prepare. It just needs two days to marinate the beautiful sweet miso, mirin and sake into the fish.

Now I definitely can't take any credit for the recipe of this dish. Black cod with miso is synonymous with Nobu Matsuhisa and no doubt you should order it if you see it on a Japanese menu. But this isn't to say you shouldn't try it at home, and impress your guests. I hadn't actually planned on making this, until I was enamoured with the new Whole Foods in Fulham. I could walk up and down the aisles for a whole day, and it was one of the first places I saw where they sold black cod. Also known as sablefish or butterfish, this fish is so silky and buttery - it's quite difficult to overcook as it's fat keeps everything soft and moist, even that of a novice cook.

 

This became the perfect experiment for bank holiday weekend. Two extra days to find the ingredients (thank you Whole Foods), marinate the fish and treat yourself on Monday for a last Soeing hoorah. It's perfect to make in advance for friends, as cooking on the day barely takes fifteen minutes.

I've tried this with a similarly flaky and fatty fish as a test (should I mysteriously be unable to get myself to Whole Foods...pah!) and seabass works a treat. However, you'll need to adjust the cooking times slightly - in terms of price, there isn't much difference between the two, so do try black cod if you can.