This is the dish I reach for when dinner needs to feel a little special, a holiday table, a birthday, or just a Tuesday I've decided deserves better than a weeknight default. A soy-ginger-garlic marinade turns into a sticky glaze once it hits the pan, and the rack finishes in the oven so you can actually time it instead of hovering over a grill.
Don't skip the quick pan-sear before the oven, it's a small step, but it's the one that makes the glaze taste like something, not just look like something.
My husband is a genuine rack of lamb purist, usually with a classic herb crust and wasn't convinced right away when I swapped that out for this soy marinade instead. A few bites in, he came around: surprisingly rich flavor, he admitted, and the lamb itself stayed remarkably tender.
This rack of lamb recipe uses rib bones that are still attached to each other. This makes it a type of meat that is very easy to prepare in a delicious way. Often the rack is flavored with a rub of green herbs. But what is also delicious is to marinate the rack with an Asian marinade of soy sauce, ginger, sambal, and garlic. You quickly fry it in the pan and then you bake the rack of lamb in the oven until it is just right.
One reader summed it up after making it for the first time, she said she "would never have thought to go the Asian route with a rack of lamb" proof this flavor combination surprises people in the best way.
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Asian flavors
You bake the rack of lamb at a medium temperature in the oven so that it is served tender and medium done on your plate. And to get a rich taste, fry it in the pan beforehand until it is nicely brown on all sides.
And afterward, you put the rack of lamb together with the baking liquid (even more flavor!) into the oven dish.
Asian lamsrack from the oven has a rich flavor due to the soy sauce marinade. A perfectly cooked piece of lamb.
Baked in the oven
Oven-baked lamp rack is a good choice when you want medium-rare. It is much more difficult to cook the meat to the right temperature in the pan. Because you let the rack of lamb cook in the oven at a fixed temperature, it is easily possible to serve it medium rare on your plate.
Pair it with green beans with herb breadcrumbs or roast potatoes and if you like this marinade, the same soy-ginger base shows up in my Sirloin Steak with Soy Ginger Marinade if you want to make your own from scratch.
Why sear before you roast?
That browning you get from the hot pan isn't just color. It's the Maillard reaction: sugars and proteins reacting under high heat and it's what builds the deep, savory flavor the oven alone won't give you. The oven finishes the cooking evenly; the pan is doing the flavor work.
What do you need for Oven-Baked Lamsrack
For the preparation of this Asian flavored lamsrack you need the following ingredients (you can find the correct amounts at the bottom of the blog in the recipe card):
- Rack of lamb - The meat has a soft structure and a delicious full flavor. And they are the best-baked medium done, but quite rosé. Check your rack of lamb before preparing. If it's not properly cleaned, the bone can have a layer of fat. Because this meat only has a short cooking time, that fat will be undercooked. So make sure you cut that fat side that away.
- Brown sugar, soy sauce, garlic, ginger and sambal - The ingredients for the soy sauce marinade. It will become nice and thick and so it is more of a glaze, a light glaze, that sticks on your rack of lamb. It combines wonderfully with this soft meat.
- Spring onion - Sprinkle some spring onion over the meat after baking. It has a slightly sweet, subtle flavor that goes well with the meat (and it also looks very nice when served). Cut it into thin strips.
How to prepare Asian Inspired Lamsrack
Step 1 - Prepare the soy sauce marinade
- Put the brown sugar and soy sauce in a bowl.
- Add the sambal.
- Squeeze the garlic clove over the bowl.
- Grate the ginger on top of the marinade.
Step 2 - Marinate / Glaze the lamb
- Mix the marinade with a fork until you get a thick paste.
- Put the meat in the marinade and turn it over. Make sure it is generously covered. Marinate the lamb for at least 3 or 4 hours.
Step 3 - Fry the meat briefly
- Heat one tablespoon of oil in the pan and fry the lamb for two minutes on high heat.
- Turn the lamsrack and cook for two more minutes. Remove the pan from the heat.
Step 4 - Bake in the oven
- Place the rack of lamb with the baking liquid in an oven dish or on a baking sheet (lined with aluminum foil. Bake in a preheated oven at 390 °F (200 °C) for 15 minutes.
- Remove the meat from the oven and cover it with aluminum foil. Let it rest for three minutes so that the meat can rest and the juices in the meat can distribute well. Cut into slices and sprinkle with spring onions.
How to check doneness
Timing alone won't tell you doneness - rack thickness varies. Use a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part, away from bone:
- 125°F (52°C): rare
- 130-135°F (54-57°C): medium-rare (what this recipe is written for)
- 140-145°F (60-63°C): medium
Pull the rack about 5 °F below your target, it keeps cooking while it rests under foil.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I grill this instead of using the oven? Yes, sear-then-finish on a grill works the same way; just watch it closer since grill heat is less even than an oven.
- No sambal on hand? Sriracha works (it's already in the ingredient list as the swap) or use any garlic-chili paste you have.
- Can I marinate longer than 4 hours? You can go overnight in the fridge, but much beyond that and the soy sauce starts to firm up the texture of the meat rather than just flavoring it.
📖 Recipe
RECIPE CARD
Recipe Help
Two easy tools to make cooking even easier. Cooking mode keeps the screen on. The easy-step recipe displays the recipe step by step, including the ingredients needed. And you can adjust servings easily
Ingredients
- 16 pieces rack of lamb, approx. 8 servings each
- 3 cloves garlic, squeezed
- 1 inch fresh ginger, grated finely
- 1 teaspoon sambal, or sriracha
- ½ cup Japanese soy sauce
- 1 cups dark brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 spring onions, sliced
All my recipes are written both in Metric (gram / ml) and US Customary (cups / pounds). Here you can select which type of amount you would like to see.
Instructions
Marinade
- Check if the rack of lamb contains fat around the bones. When it does, remove it.16 pieces rack of lamb
- Prepare a marinade of garlic, ginger, chili pepper, soy sauce, and brown sugar.3 cloves garlic, 1 inch fresh ginger, 1 teaspoon sambal, ½ cup Japanese soy sauce, 1 cups dark brown sugar
- Marinate the meat for 3 to 4 hours
- Preheat the oven to 390 °F (200 °C).
Bake the Asian rack of lamb
- Heat the oil in the frying pan and fry the lamb on all sides until it's brown.2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- Put the meat with baking liquid in a baking dish (6 x 10 inches / 15 x 25 cm) and bake for 15 minutes in the oven.
- Let the meat rest for 3 minutes and then cut it into slices.
- Serve with sliced spring onion2 spring onions
Notes
- Refrigerator: The rack of lamb can be kept in the refrigerator for two days after preparation.
- Freezer: Leftover rack of lamb will keep for up to two months in the freezer. Let it thaw in the refrigerator.
- Reheat: Take it out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before eating and warm it in the oven at 390 °F (or 200 °C) for 10 minutes. Baste halfway with some water, so that it stays moist.
Nutrition
Rachael says
This is stunning! I can imagine this would make an amazing special occasion dinner. My family would be so impressed! Thank you for the recipe. 🙂
Estelle Forrest says
WOW! That looks stunning and I bet it tastes even better! Now I have to figure out where to get a whole rack of lamb around here....
Andréa says
It sure does Rachael and yet it's such a simple recipe. I make it when I want to serve an elegant dinner on a special occasion!
Andréa says
I can order it at the butcher around here. I hope you can get it somewhere to because this is really delicious!
Debra says
Beautiful. My kids adore those lollipop lamb chops. This sounds so easy....saving for the next birthday celebration.
Amy says
Looks absolutely delicious and I love the meeting of cultures and blending produce and ingredients in a different way! I would never have to thought to go down the Asian route with a rack of lamb! I do it with ribs but not sure I never thought to do it with lamb! Thanks for the inspo!
Andréa says
Thank you! It sure is a great treat and your kids certainly will love these!
Andréa says
No thanks, it's one of my favorite ways of flavoring lambs besides the usual green herbs, which is also terrific. I hope you enjoy it!
Leslie says
What a gorgeous recipe! This is one of those classic recipes that will work for any occasion!
Andréa says
Yes it does. It's a delicious recipe! Thank you for your nice words!
Lynn says
Greetings from Switzerland! Looks delicious and would like to make it tomorrow but the oven instructions are confusing...you mention using convention but reducing the temperature by 20C...are you then saying to bake at 180C? Look forward to your reply.
Andréa says
Hi Lynn, a conventional oven should be 200 degrees Celsius. A convection oven (with air fan) 180 degrees Celsius. Enjoy your lamb! Kind regards, Andréa