Lamb and Onions with Cumin

Lamb is something that is very popular in the Middle East, Australia and parts of China. Some people don't like it because of their gamey smell, and there are others who prize lamb's tenderness and its aroma. For me, I love any lamb cooked in such a way that removes the gamey smell and preserve the aroma. Actually one of the best lamb stir fry dish (Chengdu Spiced Lamb) I've had is at the PF Chang's restaurant in Boise, ID. We also tried the same dish at PF Chang's in Fremont, CA and it wasn't as good as Boise's for some reason. If you have a PF Chang's restaurant nearby, I'd highly recommend you to give it a try. Anyhoo, today's cumin dish is kind similar to the PF Chang's version, but with a simpler flavor. I will probably post another one that is more similar to their flavor sometime later. This recipe is adapted from a Chinese recipe site.

Serves 3

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
1 pound lamb leg or shoulder meat, thinly sliced into 1/4 inch thick biteable slices
2 scallion, minced
1/2 inch ginger, minced
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon cooking wine or dry sherry
2 teaspoon soy sauce
2 teaspoon corn starch
2-4 tablespoon water
1 cup corn or vegatable oil
1 6-inch diameter onion, cut into wedges, halved and seperate the onion layer
1 tablespoon cumin powder
1-3 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped



Tips:

1. The amount of salt, cumin and chili powder is based on your taste, so during the last seasoning step, taste the dish and adjust the seasoning to your liking.
   

Instruction:

1. In a mixing bowl, mix the lamb slices with the salt, 1 teaspoon cooking wine, soy sauce and corn starch. Water should be the last ingredient to add to the marinate, the amount of water gets added depends on how much the lamb slices absorbs. Add in 2 teaspoon of water at a time, mix it well with the lamb with your hand in clockwise circular motion, then keep adding more water until the lamb can't absorb anymore water and the meat feels springy when pressed. Let it marinate for 10 minutes. After the lamb is marinated, if there are some water came out of the lamb, use the clockwise hand motion to mix it back in with the lamb, then mix it well with 1 tablespoon oil. This lamb marinate process is to let the moister get in the lamb while add the oil coating prevents the moister escape during the cooking process, our goal is to make the lamb more tender. This marinating process is exactly the same for beef, which we talked about in the Mongolian Beef recipe.
   
2. Heat 1 cup of oil in the wok or skillet over high heat till pretty hot but not smoking, put in the onion wedges and cook until onion start to soften (1-2 mintues), use a mesh to scope out the onion and put it on a paper towl lined plate. Reheat the oil till pretty hot and drop in the lamb slices, quickly cook the lamb until the lamb slices are barely cooked (white on the outside and pink in the middle). Use a mesh to scope out the lamb and drain on the paper towl.
3. Leave 1 tablespoon of the oil in the wok or skillet over high heat, put in the onion and lamb and quickly add salt, 1 teaspoon cooking wine, cumin and chili powder, mix everything so the lamb and onion is well coated. Cook till the lamb is no longer pink, taste to adjust seasoning, and mix in the sesame oil and cilantro. Serve over white rice.
   

Tomato Egg and Tofu

Tomato egg and tofu are three healthy ingredients put together to make a very healthy dish. It goes so well served over white rice, it is like the ultimate Chinese comfort food.


Serves 3

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
4 cups water
1 block soft tofu, cut into 3/4 inch cubes
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 inch ginger, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 scallion, minced
2 tablespoon peanut oil
8 medium sized shrimp, devine and shelled
4 medium sized tomatoes (about 4 inches in diameter), core removed, cut into thick wedges
1 cup chicken stock

Sauces:
3 tablespoon Ketchup
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoon sugar
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3 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoon 2 teaspoon water
2 eggs, beaten
2 teaspoon sesame oil
1 scallion, green part only, minced

Tips:

1. The shrimp in this dish can be substitute with any seafood, beacon or sausage, just make sure they are properly cooked.
2. By simmering the tofu in the chicken stock and sauce for 10 minutes, the flavor can penetrate the tofu better, if you have time, you can even try to simmer it for longer for better flavor.
   

Instruction:

1. Bring a small pot of water over high heat to a boil, add salt and tofu and simmer for 5-10 minutes
2. Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespon oil over high heat, add the scallion, ginger and garlic and stir fry until fragrant, add shrimp and stir fry for 10 seconds. Transfer everything into a place. Heat 1 tablespoon oil over high heat, when the oil is almost smoking, add the tomato and stir fry until frangrant (about 2-3min), add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Drain the tofu, add it to the wok along with sauces, the shrimp, cover, simmer for 10 minutes.
3. Mix the cornstarch with water, add it to the wok over high heat, bring everything to a boil and mix with the back of the ladle until sauce thickens. Turn off heat, sprinkle in eggs, let it sit for 30 seconds, then mix it in with the tofu. Add the sesame oil and green scallion slices, mix and serve over rice.

Chicken with Tomato Sauce

Chicken with Tomato Sauce produced one of the tenderest chicken I've had. It tastes kind like sweet and sour chicken, except in terms of texture, it is tender soft because of shallow frying for a short time vs. the crispy deep fried version. This recipe came from a Chinese cookbook.

Serves 2

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
Total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
2 tablespoon egg white
4 tablespoon corn starch
2 cups peanut oil or vegetable oil
3 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon ketchup
2 tablespoon and 2 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoon water
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Tips:

1. The key to this recipe is the tender texture of the chicken, so the shallow frying step will determine how tender the chicken will come out. If you get the oil temperature right, you are much closer to getting it perfect, therefore it helps to get a deep-fry thermometer. To use a thermometer, make sure the tip is inside the oil but doesn't touch the wok or pot, because the wok might be at a higher temperature than the oil.
2. The other key to the tender chicken is to cut the chicken pieces as evenly as possible, this ensures all the chicken pieces will be cooked evenly.
   
3. Once you master the shallow frying to produce extra tender chickens, you can apply this technique to other chicken dishes, or play around with the tomato sauce to adjust it to your liking.
   

Instruction:

1. In a medium mixing bowl, add the chicken cubes, egg white and 3 tablespoon cornstarch. Mix them well using a circular one direction motion.
   
2. To shallow fry the chicken, heat oil in a wok or a soup pot over medium heat to about 200°F. Add the chicken, and use a chopstick to gently separate the pieces. The oil temperature now shouldn't be above 175°F, if it does, remove the wok from heat until temperature drop down. Just when all the chicken pieces are turning white, quickly remove them with a slotted spoon and drain off the excess oil. The chicken should be white on the outside and still be pink in the middle.
   
3. Remove all the oil from the wok, and heat it over high heat, add the ketchup, sugar and 1 tablespoon water, stirring and bring to a boil, mix 1 tablespoon water with 1 tablespoon cornstarch and add it to the sauce. When the sauce thickens, add the chicken pieces and stir well, cook for 1-2 minutes then turn off heat. Check if the chicken is done by cutting into the largest chicken piece and make sure the inside is no longer pink. Mix in the sesame oil and serve.