Xinjiang Cumin Lamb
Xinjiang Cumin Lamb comes from the Uygur region in northwest China, but in the U.S. it’s found most often in Sichuan restaurants. With my favorite place closed due to COVID-19, I tried to replicate it by tweaking an excellent recipe from Omnivore’s Cookbook: lots more onions, and whole toasted cumin seed instead of ground. Now the restaurant’s open again, and I’m surprised to find I like our version more than the original. Serves four as part of a combination meal with rice.
Ingredients:
1 lb leg of lamb, cut into bite size strips approximately 2 x 1 x ½ inches
1 T dark soy sauce
1 T Shaoxing wine or dry sherry
½ t Kosher salt
¼ c cornstarch
For the spice mix:
2 T cumin seeds
2 t Sichuan chili flakes*
½ t Sichuan peppercorns
For the stir fry:
½ c neutral oil
¼ c dried Chinese chili peppers, cut into thirds with scissors*
1 large onion (approximately 1 ½ c), peeled and sliced
1 T grated ginger
6 cloves garlic, chopped
Method: combine lamb, soy sauce, wine and salt and marinate at least 30 minutes and as long as overnight. Grind the Sichuan peppercorns fine and add them to a small skillet with cumin and chili flakes; heat until fragrant and reserve.
After marinating lamb, drain liquid and toss in cornstarch until evenly coated. Heat oil in a wok and stir fry the lamb in two batches, turning it quickly so the exterior is crispy but the inside is rare. Reserve. Drain about half the oil and add chili peppers, onion, ginger and garlic. Stir fry for about a minute until the onions are just beginning to wilt. Add lamb pieces and spice mix and toss while heating for 30 seconds or so. Serve hot over rice.
*Chinese chili flakes and whole dried chilis may look like similar American ingredients but they have much less heat. Do make the effort to get the real thing, at an Asian market or on Amazon (those are affiliate links). If you have to use American chilis reduce the quantity drastically; the dish will still be good but less complex.
