Our cookbook of the week is Xi’an Famous Foods by Jason Wang with Jessica K. Chou. Over the next three days, we’ll feature more recipes from the book and an interview with the author.
Stuffed into their daily bread — a pan-fried, slightly fluffy flatbread — spicy cumin lamb is a signature Xi’an Famous Foods (XFF) dish.
“If there’s anything you need to know about this dish, it’s this: Bourdain loved it,” writes Jason Wang, XFF CEO.
At XFF, they typically serve spicy cumin lamb as a burger (rou jia mou) or with biang-biang (hand-ripped) noodles. (Wang also recommends eating it over rice, or with noodles in a bone broth-based soup.)
In Xi’an, China, Wang says, rou jia mou is a popular street food — but it’s made with pork or beef, not lamb. The spicy cumin lamb burger on the XFF menu, while based on components from Xi’an, was born in Flushing, New York.
“There might be a bun served next to a plate of lamb, but no one ever puts those combinations together. So this lamb dish is very important to us,” says Wang.
“When we started out, and Anthony Bourdain first came to our restaurant for No Reservations , he was captivated mostly by the lamb burger: ‘I’ve never seen this combination before, and it’s great.’ And that’s exactly what it’s all about.”
Spicy cumin lamb
Serve over rice, as a burger, with noodles, or with noodles in soup.
10 oz (280 g) boneless lamb leg (ideally partially frozen)
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch
2 tsp plus 2 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
1 green onion, trimmed and chopped
1-inch (2.5 cm) piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and sliced
1 1/2 tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp Red Chili Powder (recipe follows)
1/2 medium red onion, sliced
1 longhorn pepper, diagonally sliced
Directions:
1. Carefully slice the lamb into 1/8-inch (3 mm) thick pieces (note: it’s easier to cut when partially frozen).
2. Place the sliced lamb into a large bowl along with the cornstarch and 2 teaspoons of the vegetable oil. Mix together with your hands.
3. In a large skillet or wok, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons vegetable oil over high heat for 1 minute. Add the green onions, ginger and garlic and sauté for 30 seconds. Add the lamb and stir-fry for about 5 minutes.
4. When the meat turns an even brown colour, turn the heat down to low, add the cumin, salt and chili powder and stir to combine. Add the onions and longhorn pepper, stir to combine and serve.
Serves: 2
Red chilli powder
1 lb (450 g) dried Tianjin red chili peppers (typically labelled as Chinese dry red chilies in markets)
1/2 cup (120 mL) canola or vegetable oil
Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 200°F (90°C).
2. Wash the peppers in cold water and blot with paper towels to dry.
3. In a large bowl, toss the peppers in the oil and place them in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast in the oven for 15 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally to avoid sticking.
4. Cover a plate with paper towels. Remove the peppers from the oven and carefully set on the paper towel–lined plate to cool.
5. Once cooled, use a spice grinder to grind the peppers into powder form and store at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 1 month.
Makes: 1 cup (450 g)
Recipes and image excerpted from Xi’an Famous Foods by Jason Wang with Jessica K. Chou. Text copyright © 2020 Jason Wang. Photographs copyright © 2020 Jenny Huang. Published in 2020 by Abrams, an imprint of ABRAMS. Reproduced by arrangement with the publisher.
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2020
