Скачать или смотреть Lamb Neck Fillet with Seaweed Sauce - Unleashing Umami with Kombu

Indulge in this extraordinary lamb dish that fuses succulent lamb neck fillet with the deep, savoury umami of kombu. This recipe is very special to me—it marked a turning point when a chef friend’s approval convinced me to start this channel. The lamb is first seasoned and then gently cooked sous vide (or seared on the stovetop) while being wrapped in kombu, allowing the crystallised MSG-rich seaweed to infuse its flavour into the meat. The accompanying seaweed sauce, made by simmering chicken stock with toasted snack seaweeds, perfectly clings to the tender lamb, creating a harmonious balance of saltiness, natural sweetness, and that unmistakable umami punch.

0:00 - Intro
0:20 - Wrapping the Lamb Neck Fillet in Kombu
1:08 - Cooking the Lamb Neck Fillet Sous Vide
1:23 - Making the Seaweed Sauce
2:32 - Drying the Surface of the Lamb
3:30 - Searing the Lamb Neck Fillet on the Stove
4:33 - Carving and Plating

This is a very special dish for me, and for the channel, because I cooked it for a chef friend of mine when I was still 50-50 on whether to do the channel. His seal of approval was enough to tip the scale. And here we are.

When I came up with the recipe, I was going through a phase of wrapping and ageing practically any flesh with kombu for some extra umami. Kombu is full of natural crystallised monosodium glutamate (MSG), a flavour enhancer with an umami taste that intensifies the meaty, savoury flavour of food. If time permits, the better way would be wrapping the lamb next fillet with kombu and letting it sit in the fridge overnight. This method is quite common in Japan, mostly for fish, especially sea bream (Tai Kobujime).

Continuing on the umami theme, I used a different form of seaweed in the sauce - the crispy seaweed snack you normally find in Asian supermarkets. When softened, not only do they impart a lot of flavours, they also act as a thickener, helping the sauce cling onto the meat. I had something similar at The Clove Club many years ago (although I highly doubt they used store bought crispy seaweed) and this has been my go to easy sauce for lamb ever since. I used store-bought chicken bone broth for some extra gelatine here, but you can use any chicken stock. And of course, we add a dash of soy sauce for even more umami at the very end.

Ingredients
Lamb neck fillet
Kombu (Japanese dried kelp)
Chicken Stock - about 350 ml
Crispy seaweed - about 15 pieces, cut finely
Light soy sauce
Vegetable oil
Salt
Black pepper

Directions
1. If time permits, season the lamb neck fillet with salt and wrap it with enough kombu to cover most of the flesh. Do not wash the kombu beforehand. Leave it in the fridge overnight and up to 2 days before cooking. Otherwise you can do this just before cooking.
2. Cook the lamb in a combi oven or immersion circulator at 63°C (145.4°F) for one hour (up to 4 hours). If you do not have the sous vide equipment, you can skip this step and cook the fillet all the way on the stove.
3. Add the chicken stock and the seaweed to a saucepan. Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to a bare simmer until it’s reached your desired consistency.
4. Remove the kombu from the lamb and put it on a wire rack to dry. If you have a fan, great. Do not pat the lamb dry with kitchen paper, because this would remove the monosodium glutamate.
5. Once the surface looks dry, add vegetable oil to a pan at high heat (induction 8.5). Once the oil starts to shimmer, add the lamb next fillet and cook until browned on all sides.
6. Carve and serve with the sauce.

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