Cumin lamb is a Xinjiang (新疆) dish, similar to Yang Rou Chuan (grilled lamb skewers). Like the wildly popular (and delicious) chuan, it has gone beyond Xinjiang to become a popular dish all over China. I’ve seen it most often at authentic Hunan, Sichuan, and Chinese halal restaurants.
It’s really not difficult to see why cumin lamb, flavored with whole cumin seeds, has become such a popular dish. Cumin and lamb is a flavor match made in heaven. Add some hot peppers and plenty of cilantro, and it’s a dish too perfect to ignore. With white rice…I’ll use a phrase that Bill and the girls taught me over the years: Daaaaaaaang.
As a matter of fact, cumin lamb is one of my mother’s favorite dishes, and she usually doesn’t even like lamb. That’s how good it is. Fun fact, most Shanghainese people don’t like lamb—I used to be one of them, I’m ashamed to admit. You will never find any lamb dish in a Shanghainese restaurant.
That said, I really don’t know why that’s the case. According to TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine), lamb’s benefits include: expelling dampness from the body, warming the blood, and improving your overall Qi. Not surprising, then, that the best time to eat lamb is in the autumn and winter. So as summer comes to a close, what better time to post this recipe?
One last point I want to make: the trick to a good cumin lamb is the lamb fat. Hear me out. Overly lean lamb just tastes tough and unpleasant. The addition of a little extra marbling makes all the difference in the flavor and savory quality of the dish. I used leg of lamb, which ended up being a bit too lean. Most recipes will tell you to use leg of lamb, but I think the shoulder cut is better. Whatever you do, find a way to get some lamb fat in the dish.
To marinate the lamb:
- 1 pound lamb (preferably shoulder), cut into ½-inch by 2-inch pieces
- 3 teaspoons cumin powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon oil (optional, if you have a fattier cut of lamb)
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine
For the rest of the dish:
- 2 tablespoons cumin seeds
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 2 red chili peppers, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon Sichuan red pepper flakes or chili powder
- 1/4 teaspoon sugar
- 2 scallions, chopped
- Large handful of chopped cilantro
- Salt, to taste
Pad lamb dry with paper towel before cutting. Once cut, combine the lamb with the marinade ingredients in a bowl. Set aside and let marinate for 30 minutes.
Once the lamb has been marinated, heat a wok over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds to the wok and dry toast them until fragrant. Turn off the heat, remove the cumin from the wok, and set aside.
Now heat the wok over the highest setting until it starts to smoke. Add two tablespoons of oil to coat the wok, and then immediately add the lamb. Sear the meat until it turns brown and starts to crisp slightly. The high heat will sear the meat, but keep it tender as well.
Now add the cooked cumin seeds, chili, red pepper flakes (or powder), sugar, scallions, cilantro, and salt.
Toss everything together quickly (so that the scallion and cilantro are just wilted), and transfer to a serving dish. Serve hot with plenty of white rice!
- 1 pound lamb (preferably shoulder), cut into ½-inch by 2-inch pieces
- 3 teaspoons cumin powder
- 1½ teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 tablespoon oil (optional, if you have a fattier cut of lamb)
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine
- 2 tablespoons cumin seeds
- 2 tablespoons oil
- 2 red chili peppers, chopped
- ½ teaspoon Sichuan red pepper flakes or chili powder
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- 2 scallions, chopped
- Large handful of chopped cilantro
- Salt, to taste
- Pad lamb dry with paper towel before cutting. Once cut, combine the lamb with the marinade ingredients in a bowl. Set aside and let marinate for 30 minutes.
- Once the lamb has been marinated, heat a wok over medium heat. Add the cumin seeds to the wok and dry toast them until fragrant. Turn off the heat, remove the cumin from the wok, and set aside.
- Now heat the wok over the highest setting until it starts to smoke. Add two tablespoons of oil to coat the wok, and then immediately add the lamb. Sear the meat until it turns brown and starts to crisp slightly. The high heat will sear the meat, but keep it tender as well.
- Now add the cooked cumin seeds, chili, red pepper flakes (or powder), sugar, scallions, cilantro, and salt. Toss everything together quickly (so that the scallion and cilantro are just wilted), and transfer to a serving dish. Serve hot with plenty of white rice!
Alice says
Just wanted to say, I made this as a vegan meal with smoked tofu instead of lamb and – as an omnivore – I can say it tasted every bit as good as with the lamb!
Judy says
Hi Alice, you are right. In this case, the spices and the aromatics make the dish, not so much the main ingredient. Thank you so much for sharing your feedback!
Victoria R says
Hi Judy,
Thank you for this amazing recipe. Just reading it got me drooling & I put in a special supermarket grocery delivery order to get all the stuff I needed straightaway, because I needed to eat it like now!!
Anyway, a mere 24 hours later I was enjoying a bowl full of yumminess :-)
I never would have thought to use a fatty cut like shoulder for stir-frying but what did I know. I was amazed at how fast most of the fat rendered off so quickly and what was left just melted in the mouth….mmmmm….
It’s a nice easy recipe, though my arm got tired from chopping all that meat because my poor old cleaver isn’t as sharp as it used to be. I also fried the meat in 2 batches because I know from experience that my ‘wok pan’ doesn’t get as hot as a proper wok, so smaller batches is a top tip for anyone struggling with searing the meat.
I also agree that plain white rice is a perfect accompaniment because all the tasty lamb coating kind of smeared over the rice, transferring its flavour. So good :-)
So thanks again, top nosh as we say in the UK!
p.s. I also fancy trying this with Chinese 5 Spice instead of the cumin powder
Judy says
Love it that you love the recipe, Victoria!
Kathy says
Could you make this with Stew Beef and add bell peppers?
Judy says
It’s worth a try, Kathy!
Nean says
At a nearby Shaanxi restaurant here in oz, they also do cumin beef (with noodle/shredded flatbread).
Judy says
Thank you, Nean! I will keep that in mind.
Kenny McDonald says
Brilliant recipe, however, I would argue against serving with white rice. Lamb is a northern ingredient, which, is wheat, not rice territory, and more suited to, in order: flat breads, then dry noodles, then dumplings.
I am unsure exactly where the rice/wheat border exists in China except to state that Fujian province would yield three rice harvests annually, versus one in Heilonjiang.
To be authentic, rice isn’t the way to go with this delightful dish.
Lance Owens says
After making this dish a few times, I decided last night to serve it wrapped in fresh chapatis. It turned out very well. I thereafter saw your comment, which is right on target. Give it a try with flat bread.
Judy says
Hi Lance, I do like the flatbread idea. I think cumin tacos also sound pretty good :-)
Judy says
Hi Kenny, point taken! You might be right, I can see this dish tasting great wrapped in a flatbread. But for all the times we’ve ordered this dish in restaurants, it has been served with rice.
Shirley says
I had this at a restaurant the other day and it was delicious. This is weird, but I just used your recipe using a half pound of ground pork and a bell pepper instead of lamb. (I never have lamb.) It was awesome. Thanks for a wonderful recipe!
Judy says
Hi Shirley, cumin pork? It obviously works! Thank you for the idea.
Andrea Houston says
Made this for dinner tonight except I asked for a lamb shoulder roast at the farmer’s market and ended up with a blade roast, very difficult to get the meat off of. So I mixed up all of the ingredients, marinated the entire roast whole, and poured it all into a dutch oven and basically pot-roasted it. Absolutely delicious, if a bit unorthodox. Can’t wait to try again with boneless lamb shoulder.
Judy says
Wow! Smart! I’d never thought to do that.
Carol Berman D'Andrade says
I just had a variation of this dish at Lao Sze Chaun Restaurant, so finding this recipe is wonderful. Thank you. I will definitely make this.
Judy says
Hope you like my version, Carol!
Soraya Ambadar says
Hi,
can you please give me a Thai GARLIC LAMB recipe?
Please.
thanks
cheers
Soraya
Judy says
Ok, we will add it to our recipe list.
laurie says
Thank you for this! Made it tonight and its fabulous, savoury and delicious! (Do you ever stick it on a bbq?)
Judy says
Hi Laurie, check out our Chuan 串 recipe. It’s absolutely the best BBQ lamb on a stick and the #1 street food in China.