Recipe: Stir-Fried Lamb With Chili, Cumin and Garlic

• 
  
  

Published: September 20, 2006

Time: At least 30 minutes

Readers’ Opinions

Forum: Cooking and Recipes

1½ pounds lamb shoulder
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
½ teaspoon crushed red chili flakes, or to taste
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon soy sauce
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Peanut or neutral oil, like grapeseed or corn, to film the bottom of the skillet
1 cup trimmed and roughly chopped scallions, optional
Chopped fresh cilantro leaves for garnish, optional.

1. Cut lamb into ½-inch cubes (easier if meat is firmed in the freezer for 15 to 45 minutes). Toast cumin seeds in dry skillet over medium heat, shaking pan occasionally, until fragrant, a minute or 2. Toss together lamb with cumin, chili, garlic, soy sauce, a large pinch of salt and a healthy grinding of pepper. If you like, cover and refrigerate until ready to cook, up to 24 hours.

2. When ready to cook, put a tablespoon of oil in a large skillet (ideally, it will hold the lamb in one layer, or nearly so) and turn heat to high. When hot, add lamb. Cook, undisturbed, for about a minute, then stir once or twice to loosen lamb from skillet. Cook another minute, then stir again. Add scallions, if using, and cook, stirring occasionally, until scallions glisten and shrink a bit and the meat is about medium.

3. If you want a slightly saucier mixture, stir in ¼ cup water and cook another minute. Serve hot over rice, garnished, if you like, with cilantro.

Yield: 4 servings.

A Lamb Classic From Mongolia

• SIGN IN TO E-MAIL THIS
• PRINT
• REPRINTS

By MARK BITTMAN

Published: September 20, 2006

IF I were to ask someone who knows about the world’s cuisines, “Where is the combination of chili, cumin, garlic and lamb a classic?” the most likely answers would be North Africa, the Middle East or elsewhere in western Asia. But this dish is straight from Mongolia, via the street vendors of Queens, and it’s little more than those four ingredients.

Related

Recipe: Stir-Fried Lamb with Chili, Cumin and Garlic(September 20, 2006)

Readers’ Opinions

Forum: Cooking and Recipes

On the street, the lamb is marinated for who knows how long, threaded onto skewers, grilled quickly over very hot charcoal and sold for a buck — maybe two — a stick. If you wanted to do it that way at home, you could, with good wood charcoal and a grill rack pretty close to the heat. You want to sear the lamb, but keep it medium rare.

The combination takes perfectly well to stir-frying. Start with lamb shoulder; leg is not lean or tender enough for this treatment. You can use loin if you prefer, but the dish will cost at least 10 times as much and it won’t be any better. Marinate it dry (or nearly so; I use a little soy sauce, for complexity) for as long as you like — 10 minutes, an hour, a day. The flavor will get a little stronger, though not much.

More important than the length of time is the freshness of your cumin. You absolutely need cumin seeds, not ground cumin. It’s worth the two or three minutes it takes to toast the seeds before marinating the meat. You can grind them if you like, but I like the little bit of crunch the seeds add.

For stir-frying, get your pan really hot, then add some oil and the lamb and leave it alone for a minute; let it sear. Stir it and let it sear again.

I offer a couple of other options, but it’s that basic combination of flavors, no matter where it’s from, that’s doing the work here.

THE MINIMALIST; A Little Skin, A Lot of Fire

By Mark Bittman
Published: September 03, 2003

THIS recipe could unite those who would become ecstatic when they see a dish of chicken skin on a restaurant menu and those who would flee into the street.

I'm in the first group. My own fascination with chicken skin began with my grandmother's chopped liver, mixed with bits of crisp-fried skin -- the best part, as everyone knew.

My fascination was revived recently at the Grand Sichuan restaurant on Second Avenue near 56th Street, where I had a stir-fry of chicken skin and whole dried chilies. There's not much more to the dish than that, but it is a beauty. (They can also make it with chicken meat instead of skin.) This recipe, from my kitchen and not from the restaurant, combines skin and meat. You can eliminate the skin; just start with a couple of tablespoons of peanut or vegetable oil.

The keys to dishes that feature handfuls of dried chilies are one, don't eat the chilies. And two, don't let any of them break open while cooking; each broken one will intensify the heat exponentially. But they're sturdy devils, so this is not that difficult.

The browned chilies lend the dish a nearly fiery smokiness, rather than just plain fire. I'm fairly timid when it comes to hot food, but the heat of this dish does not overwhelm me.

Browning the skin renders its fat, which in turn is used to cook the other ingredients. It's best to stir-fry the ingredients in batches, to brown them nicely, then combine them and build the simple sauce.

Needless to say, this is for a select audience, but if you find the right group, ecstasy may result.

SICHUAN CHICKEN WITH CHILIES

Time: 40 minutes

4 chicken leg quarters (legs and thighs)

Salt

20 to 40 whole dried red chilies

1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

2 tablespoons dry sherry

1/2 cup chicken stock

2 tablespoons soy sauce.

1. Skin chicken, and cut skin into 1/2-inch pieces; set aside. Bone chicken, and cut meat into 1/2-inch pieces; set aside separately.

2. Turn heat under a wok or 10-inch skillet to medium-high and add chicken skin. Cook, stirring occasionally and adjusting heat so skin browns but does not burn, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with salt, and remove to a bowl, using a slotted spoon.

3. Add chilies and cook, stirring occasionally, until they puff and darken, 3 or 4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon to a separate bowl. Add bell pepper and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until it browns, about 5 minutes. Remove and combine with chilies. Add as much chicken meat as will fit in one layer, and cook until browned on one side; season with salt. Stir and cook until browned; remove and repeat with remaining chicken.

4. Add garlic, followed by chicken, peppers and skin. Stir to combine, then add sherry, stock and soy sauce. Cook until mixture is saucy, about 3 minutes, then serve with white rice. Chilies should not be eaten.

Yield: 4 servings.

THE MINIMALIST; A Condiment Gets to Shine STIR-FRIED CHICKEN WITH KETCHUP

By Mark Bittman
Published: May 12, 2004

• SIGN IN TO E-MAIL
• PRINT

THIS is a perfectly contemporary dish: Manchurian in origin, inspired by an Indian chef who lives in New York and based on an ingredient that is in almost every refrigerator.

It's stir-fried chicken with ketchup, and before you turn your nose up, think of hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, mayonnaise, Worcestershire sauce, salsa and all the other condiments that somehow are often considered inferior in haute cuisine circles.

Then think how good ketchup can taste.

I learned about the genesis of this dish from Suvir Saran, an Indian chef in New York. In the version he cooked for me, Mr. Saran tossed cauliflower in a slurry of cornstarch and egg, then deep-fried it. The crust was exquisite, and the cauliflower perfectly cooked. But it was what happened next that really got my attention: He finished the cauliflower in a sauce, made in about three minutes, containing nothing more than ketchup, garlic and cayenne pepper.

The garlic and cayenne gave the ketchup a significant leg up, and the brief cooking time caramelized the sugars. In all, the ordinary ingredient we all grew up with was transformed into a glistening, almost exotic sauce, one that latched on to that cauliflower as if the molecules had fused.

''This recipe is one of many dishes created by Chinese immigrants who now live in India,'' Mr. Saran said. ''You see it in Calcutta's Chinatown, where it's sold on the street, to be eaten off toothpicks.''

I tried making the dish with cauliflower that I didn't deep-fry; it wasn't the same. But when I floured some chicken and seared it in oil until it was quite crisp, then turned that in the sauce, I knew I had hit it: Manchurian-style chicken. (And, yes, you can eat it with toothpicks if you like.)

If you take to this dish, you might start to play with it: cook some peanuts with the chicken, toss some slivered scallions or cilantro in at the end (the color is brilliant, as you can imagine), substitute soy sauce for the salt, or start with squid or shrimp. It's all pretty flexible, and just think, you already have the main ingredient.

STIR-FRIED CHICKEN WITH KETCHUP

Time: 20 minutes

1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken, preferably dark meat, in 1/2- to 1-inch chunks

1/2 cup flour, more as needed

4 tablespoons neutral oil, like corn or canola

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons slivered garlic

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste

1 cup ketchup.

1. Toss chicken with flour so that it is lightly dusted. Put 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet, preferably nonstick, and turn heat to high. When oil smokes, add chicken in one layer. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

2. When chicken browns on one side, toss it and cook until just about done: smaller pieces will take 5 minutes total, larger pieces about 10. Remove to a plate. Turn off heat and let pan cool for a moment.

3. Add remaining oil to pan and turn heat to medium high. Add garlic and cayenne pepper and cook, stirring, about 2 minutes. Add ketchup and stir; cook until ketchup bubbles, then darkens slightly. Return chicken to pan and stir to coat with sauce. Taste and adjust seasoning, then serve.

Yield: 4 servings.

Recipe: Pernil

Published: January 2, 2008

Time: At least 3 hours

Related

The Minimalist: Let the Oven Do All the Work (January 2, 2008)

1 pork shoulder, 4 to 7 pounds (or use fresh ham)

4 or more cloves garlic, peeled

1 large onion, quartered

2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves or 1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ancho or other mild chili powder

1 tablespoon salt

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Olive oil as needed

1 tablespoon wine or cider vinegar

Lime wedges for serving.

1. Heat oven to 300 degrees. Score meat’s skin with a sharp knife, making a cross-hatch pattern. Pulse garlic, onion, oregano, cumin, chili, salt and pepper together in a food processor, adding oil in a drizzle and scraping down sides as necessary, until mixture is pasty. (Alternatively, mash ingredients in a mortar and pestle.) Blend in the vinegar.

2. Rub this mixture well into pork, getting it into every nook and cranny. Put pork in a roasting pan and film bottom with water. Roast pork for several hours (a 4-pound shoulder may be done in 3 hours), turning every hour or so and adding more water as necessary, until meat is very tender. Finish roasting with the skin side up until crisp, raising heat at end of cooking if necessary.

3. Let meat rest for 10 to 15 minutes before cutting it up; meat should be so tender that cutting it into uniform slices is almost impossible; rather, whack it up into chunks. Serve with lime.

Yield: At least 6 servings.

THE MINIMALIST

Let the Oven Do All the Work

Evan Sung for The New York Times

GARLICKY A well-seasoned paste flavors the pork, which is then cooked slowly.

• TWITTER
• SIGN IN TO E-MAIL OR SAVE THIS
• PRINT
• REPRINTS
• SHARE

By MARK BITTMAN

Published: January 2, 2008

IF you buy a big pork shoulder and take your time, as you should, the classic Puerto Rican pork roast called pernil can take you nearly all day. The last time I roasted a large one it was in the oven for seven hours.

Related

Recipe: Pernil (January 2, 2008)

Video

More Video »

Yet there are times I feel almost guilty about this dish because the process is beyond easy and incredibly impressive, it feeds as many people as a medium-size ham, and the flavor is unbelievable.

When I first learned how to make a classic pernil, about 30 years ago, the only seasonings I used were oregano, garlic and vinegar.

But I’ve taken some liberties by adding a little cumin and some chilies; the onion is my addition, too. After all, pork is less flavorful than it used to be.

I believe that a slightly wetter coating and some water in the bottom of the pan keeps the meat moist during the long, slow roasting period.

The idea is this: Make a purée of the onion, garlic — you can use much more than the four cloves I recommend here — oregano, cumin and mild chili powder, like ancho. You can add a little cayenne or chipotle powder, but not too much.

Rub the paste all over the pork shoulder, and then roast it in a slow oven at about 300 degrees until it’s super-tender and brown.

When it’s done, the pork should be just about falling off the bone and a thing of beauty, crisp and dark. If the outside needs a little more browning, just jack the heat up a bit for 10 or 15 minutes.

Let it rest a bit, serve and try not to feel too guilty.

Recipe: Pernil

Published: January 2, 2008

Time: At least 3 hours

Related

The Minimalist: Let the Oven Do All the Work (January 2, 2008)

1 pork shoulder, 4 to 7 pounds (or use fresh ham)

4 or more cloves garlic, peeled

1 large onion, quartered

2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves or 1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ancho or other mild chili powder

1 tablespoon salt

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Olive oil as needed

1 tablespoon wine or cider vinegar

Lime wedges for serving.

1. Heat oven to 300 degrees. Score meat’s skin with a sharp knife, making a cross-hatch pattern. Pulse garlic, onion, oregano, cumin, chili, salt and pepper together in a food processor, adding oil in a drizzle and scraping down sides as necessary, until mixture is pasty. (Alternatively, mash ingredients in a mortar and pestle.) Blend in the vinegar.

2. Rub this mixture well into pork, getting it into every nook and cranny. Put pork in a roasting pan and film bottom with water. Roast pork for several hours (a 4-pound shoulder may be done in 3 hours), turning every hour or so and adding more water as necessary, until meat is very tender. Finish roasting with the skin side up until crisp, raising heat at end of cooking if necessary.

3. Let meat rest for 10 to 15 minutes before cutting it up; meat should be so tender that cutting it into uniform slices is almost impossible; rather, whack it up into chunks. Serve with lime.

Yield: At least 6 servings.

From NYTimes the Minimalist column

South Indian Eggplant Curry

Published: April 2, 2008

Adapted from Roopa Kalyanaraman

Time: 15 minutes

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 tablespoon chickpea flour

1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder

Dash of asafetida

3 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut

1 tablespoon grated ginger

1 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste

2 teaspoons tamarind paste

1 large or 2 medium eggplant

Chopped fresh cilantro leaves for garnish.

1. In a bowl, mix oil, chickpea flour, turmeric and asafetida. Heat on high for 90 seconds, stopping to stir halfway through. In another bowl, heat coconut on high for 90 seconds, stirring halfway through. Add coconut, ginger, salt and tamarind to chickpea mixture.

2. Rinse and dry eggplant, trim off ends, and cut into 1-inch slices. Score one side of each slice in several places. Spread and press spice mixture into gashes, then put eggplant into a dish. Partly cover (waxed paper works) and heat on high for 6 minutes. Uncover and cook on high for 2 or 3 minutes, until very soft. Garnish with cilantro. Serve hot or warm.

Yield: 4 or more servings.