Xinjiang Lamb

Lamb seared hard and tossed with whole cumin toasted in the same pan, with nothing wet added.

Lamb. Not vegetarian — contains lamb.

Ingredients

• 700 g lamb shoulder, in 2 cm cubes
• 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 tablespoons whole cumin seeds
• 1 tablespoon chilli flakes
• 4 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 onion, in thick petals
• a handful of coriander, chopped

Method

1. Toss the lamb with the wine and salt and leave it 20 minutes, then blot it dry.
2. Get a heavy pan or wok smoking hot with the oil and sear the lamb in two batches, 4 minutes each, without crowding it. You want crust, and crust needs space and a dry surface.
3. Lift the lamb out and turn the heat to low.
4. Add the whole cumin seeds to the oil and stir them for 40 seconds until they darken a shade and the smell changes from dusty to nutty. Whole seeds toasted here, not ground cumin from a jar — ground cumin burns in seconds and tastes of nothing but bitterness afterwards.
5. Add the chilli flakes and garlic for 15 seconds.
6. Turn the heat back up, add the onion, and stir for a minute so it chars at the edges and stays crunchy inside.
7. Return the lamb, toss everything together for 90 seconds, and take it off. Nothing liquid goes in at any point: the dish is dry and the seasoning clings to the crust.
8. Stir the coriander through off the heat.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under China · All recipes