Chinese Scallion Lamb Recipes

CUMIN LAMB STIR-FRY

Steps:

• In a dry skillet over medium heat, toast cumin seeds and peppercorns until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a mortar and pestle and crush lightly.
• Slice meat across the grain into 1/2-inch-thick strips. Toss meat with crushed spices, ground cumin, salt and dried chiles.
• Peel onion and halve it through the root end. Trim the ends and cut each half lengthwise into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Cut white and light green parts of scallions into 2-inch lengths. Thinly slice scallion greens; keep separate.
• Heat a very large skillet or wok over high heat until screaming hot, about 5 minutes. Add oil. Toss in onion and the scallion bottoms. Cook, tossing occasionally, until vegetables are lightly charred but still crisp, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
• Add lamb and chiles to skillet. Cook, tossing quickly, until meat begins to brown. Add garlic, soy sauce and sherry. Cook until most of the liquid has evaporated and lamb is cooked through, about 2 minutes. Toss in onions and scallion bottoms. Remove from heat and mix in cilantro and scallion greens. Serve hot, over rice.

GRILLED LAMB WITH SCALLION PANCAKES

Steps:

• Marinate the meat: Brush the lamb with soy sauce and coat with five-spice powder. Set aside for 1 hour at room temperature.
• Make the pancakes: Whirl the flour and salt in a food processor. Boil 1 cup water. With the machine running, slowly pour the water in through the feed tube. Process briefly to form a smooth dough. Remove from the processor to a lightly floured work surface. Knead briefly. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 1 hour.
• Divide dough in 8 pieces. On a lightly floured surface, roll each piece into a thin 10-inch round. Brush each round with sesame oil and scatter with scallions. Roll up each round into a tight cylinder, then coil each cylinder around like a bun. Slightly flatten each bun, then roll each into a round pancake about 6 inches in diameter. Set aside, covered with a towel.
• Light a grill or broiler for medium heat. Grill or broil the lamb, turning once, until desired degree of doneness, about 12 minutes per side for medium-rare. It's an uneven cut, so you might remove some parts as they are done. Let rest 20 minutes before slicing.
• Shortly before serving, heat 2 teaspoons vegetable oil in a small skillet on medium. Fry the pancakes one at a time, turning, until lightly browned a minute or so per side, adding more oil as needed. Stack cooked pancakes and wrap them in foil. If using a grill, place the pancakes to one side, away from direct heat to keep warm.
• Thinly slice the lamb and arrange it on a platter. If serving the dish like tacos, cut the slices in 2-inch pieces. Stack the pancakes to one side of the platter. Pile cucumber slivers in a mound on the platter, and serve with hoisin sauce.

BRAISED FIVE-SPICE LAMB SHANKS WITH SOY AND GINGER

Steps:

• Combine all ingredients except the bok choy, oil, rice and scallions in large pot that can later be covered; bring to a boil and simmer, covered, until the flavors have melded, about 15 minutes.
• Sauté the bok choy in the oil until tender; stir it into the stew at the last minute and serve over rice, garnished with the scallions.

GRILLED SCALLION LAMB

Steps:

• Cut lamb in 2-inch chunks; you should have about 20 pieces. In a bowl, combine 2 tablespoons oil with ginger, five-spice, cumin, pepper, salt, fish sauce, soy sauce and juice of 2 limes. Add lamb, mix to coat well and set aside at room temperature 3 hours.
• Trim scallions of roots and outer layer of white and cut back green so scallions are 6 to 8 inches long. Coat with remaining oil and set aside. Light grill. Thread meat on long skewers, alternating each chunk of meat with a scallion by running skewers through the center of the scallions crosswise so the scallions stick out on either side of the skewer. Brush meat and scallions with some of remaining marinade.
• Grill skewers of meat and scallions close to your source of heat, basting occasionally with marinade. Turn skewers once or twice, about 5 minutes per side, depending on the heat of the grill, until lamb is medium-rare and scallions are lightly charred. Arrange skewers on a platter and serve with wedges of remaining lime.

CRISPY LAMB WITH CUMIN, SCALLIONS AND RED CHILES

Steps:

• In a bowl combine egg white, wine, cornstarch, salt and pepper. Add lamb and set aside to marinate 1 hour.
• Heat a large wok or skillet over high heat until a drop of water sizzles on contact. Swirl half the oil into wok and carefully add lamb, spreading it in a single layer. Let sear a moment, then stir-fry briskly just until lamb is no longer pink. Transfer to a plate. (If your wok is not large enough to hold all the lamb, do this in 2 batches, using extra oil.)
• Swirl remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons oil into empty wok, add cumin seeds and chiles and stir-fry a few seconds until cumin seeds start to pop. Press chiles against sides of wok to char their skins.
• Add scallions and stir-fry 1 minute. Then return lamb to wok and stir-fry 1 to 2 minutes more until lamb is cooked through. Turn off heat, sprinkle with salt and drops of sesame oil, and serve immediately.

CHINESE SCALLION LAMB

Steps:

• Slice lean lamb thinly across the grain, discarding all gristle. Toss with soy sauce and allow to stand 10 minutes. Cut scallions diagonally into 1/4" sections. Heat lard or oil until very hot. Add lamb and ch'ao a minute. Add scallion and stir until wilted. Do not overcook. This dish should not have much free sauce. If it does, the heat was not high enough.