Cumin lamb

Cumin lamb is the best thing ever. (If you like lamb, and spicy stuff, and being punched by umami flavor. ) I guess I’ll admit that this dish is not as easy as it seems and took me many tries to perfect. Once I mastered the art of making cumin lamb, it became the dinner that my picky picky husband always requests!

Ingredients

• 1 lb of lamb, sliced (leg or shoulder work fine)
• 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil
• 3 pinches of salt
• 2 pinches of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of dark soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon of cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon of shaoxing rice wine
• 1 teaspoon of ground cumin
• 1 or 2 jalapeno (depending on how spicy you like your lamb)
• 1 small yellow onion, julienned (larger chunks are okay)
• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 inch ginger, sliced into 1/2 centimeters
• 1 stalk of green onion, chopped into 2 inch stalks, with green and white parts separated
• 2 teaspoons of crushed red pepper flakes
• 1 tablespoon of ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon of whole cumin seeds (optional)
• Vegetable oil s needed

Tips

• Does it have to be shaoxing rice wine? Probably not, but it really does bring out the taste that other types of rice wine doesn’t.
• When cooking the lamb first, make sure it’s cooked to the point that it’s dry and charring. You don’t want it to be saucy.
• You can substitute crushed red pepper flakes with gochugaru.
• To adjust the taste at the end, use salt to help balance out the spice if too spicy. Use cumin to add more flavor if it just tastes like soy sauce. Use more crushed red pepper flakes if it’s not spicy enough.

Instructions

• Combine lamb, vegetable oil, salt, sugar, dark soy sauce, cornstarch and shaoxing rice wine. Marinate for at least 30 minutes, but the longer the better.
• Heat up vegetable oil in a wok or pan.
• Place the lamb into the wok or pan and stir fry for about 10 minutes, or however long it takes for the moisture to dry out and for the lamb to start charring. Set aside when finished.
• In the same wok or pan, add the onion, garlic, ginger, the white parts of the green onion, the crushed red pepper flakes, and the whole cumin seeds and stir fry until fragrant, about 5 minutes.
• Add the jalapenos and stir fry for another 2 minutes.
• Add the cooked lamb back into the wok or pan along with the 1 tablespoon of ground cumin and the green parts of the green onion. Stir fry for another 2-3 minutes.
• Taste the lamb and adjust based on your liking.
• Ready to serve!
• Serve white or brown rice, vegetables, or other family favorites.