The city of Xi’an in the northwestern province of Shaanxi in China lies at the eastern end of the Silk Road. Persian and Arab traders arrived here introducing their food and customs and there is still a Muslim quarter in Xi’an today. This is an adaptation of a popular dish which combines lamb and cumin with Sichuan peppercorns, chilli and soy sauce in a true melding of east and west. Lamb shoulder is ideal for this dish but is very fatty. If you can make this a day ahead you can remove the fat before reheating.
Preheat your oven to 120ºC (210ºF). Heat some oil in a frypan and brown 900g (2 lbs) of cubed lamb shoulder until sealed. Set aside. Heat some oil in a heavy ovenproof pot with a lid and fry 1 large sliced onion over medium heat until soft. Add 5 finely minced cloves of garlic, a similar amount of finely diced ginger, 3 teaspoons of whole Sichuan peppercorns, 5 teaspoons of cumin seeds and 10 roughly chopped dried chillies. The amount of chillies depends on the amount of spice you want and just how hot your chillies are – larger dried chillies are usually milder. Fry this mixture until fragrant then add the browned lamb, a cinnamon stick, 1 – 2 star anise, 10 ml (1 fl oz) of Chinese cooking wine, 45ml (1½ fl oz) of soy sauce and 4 teaspoons of dark soy sauce. Cover the meat with a cartouche (a round of parchment paper) and a lid and cook in the oven for approximately 3 hours or until the lamb is very soft. When the lamb is tender season to taste with salt and sugar if required. Just before serving, stir through a chopped bunch of fresh coriander (cilantro). Serve on wide noodles cooked until just al dente and tossed with some chopped spring onion and a little chilli oil. Garnish each serve with chopped spring onion and coriander.
michelle picker cooks 