Chinese · Xinjiang · main

Cumin Lamb (Zi Ran Yang Rou)

Cumin Lamb (Zi Ran Yang Rou) reads umami 7.3, richness 6.2 and allium 4.5 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Chinese · Xinjiang main, about 37 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

• Umami & Savory — 8.0 / 10
• Sweet & Fruity — 3.7 / 10
• Sour & Bright — 1.4 / 10
• Bitter & Earthy — 2.6 / 10
• Rich & Fat — 7.2 / 10
• Aromatic & Spice — 5.2 / 10

The measured notes (of 18)

Umami 7.3 · Richness 6.2 · Allium 4.5 · Salinity 4.4 · Sweetness 3.6 · Nutty 3.2 · Warm Spice 3.0 · Herbaceous 2.9 · Funk & Ferment 2.7 · Heat 2.5 · Earthy 2.4 · Floral 1.3 · Bitterness 1.3 · Citrus 1.2 · Sourness 0.6

What's in it (16)

• lamb shoulder roast — 450 g
• soy sauce — 15 g
• shaoxing wine — 15 g
• cornflour — 5 g
• peanut oil — 14 g
• cumin seeds — 30 g
• chili flakes — 15 g
• sichuan pepper — 5 g
• peanut oil — 41 g
• onion — 110 g
• garlic — 12 g
• fresh ginger — 20 g
• spring onions — 440 g
• salt — 3 g
• caster sugar — 4 g
• coriander — 25 g

Time & effort: about 37 min (7 min active) · effort: involved

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 139.8 kcal, 10.4 g protein, 8.2 g fat, 7.5 g carbs

Dietary: Contains meat — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (7 steps)

1. Toss the lamb with the soy sauce, Shaoxing wine, cornflour and marinade oil and leave 30 minutes.
2. Toast the cumin seeds in a dry wok over medium heat 60 to 90 seconds, until they darken a shade and smell like a street of skewer grills. Tip them out, toast the Sichuan pepper in the same wok for 30 seconds, then crush both coarsely with the chilli flakes in a mortar. Coarse, not powdered: you want to bite into the cumin.
3. Heat the wok until it smokes, add 2 tbsp of the wok oil and spread the lamb in one layer. Leave it 45 seconds without moving, then stir-fry 2 minutes, until browned outside and still pink within. Tip it out.
4. Add the last 1 tbsp oil, then the onion, garlic and ginger, and stir-fry 60 seconds over high heat until the onion is scorched at the edges but still crunchy.
5. Return the lamb, add the crushed spice mixture, salt and sugar and toss hard 45 to 60 seconds, until everything is dry and the spices cling to the meat. There should be no sauce at all; this is a dry stir-fry, close to what comes off the charcoal skewers on the street.
6. Throw in the spring onions and coriander, toss once and serve with flatbread or nan.
7. Substitutions: leg can stand in for the lamb shoulder.

Dishes with a similar flavor shape

• Ground Pork and Green Bean Stir-Fry — Chinese-American
• Korean Ground Beef Bowl — Korean
• Spicy Korean Beef and Radish Stew — Korean
• Dakgalbi (Spicy Korean Chicken Stir-Fry) — Korean
• Baked Gnocchi with Sausage and Tomato Cream — Italian-American

Keep reading: what umami, richness, allium mean in the flavor lexicon · the world's cuisines, by flavor.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.