Simmered lamb with spices and served with two delicious dipping sauces. It is quite hard for me to name this dish. In Chinese, it is called “白切羊肉”, which literally mean white cut lamb. “white cut” is a popular cooking method in Chinese cooking. Ingredients are simmered with spices or ginger and scallion and in most case, the original flavors are kept. Then after cutting into slices or pieces, they usually are matched with dipping sauces.
We have different choices to make this dish in different season. In summer, lamb ribs can provide more fat and make the dish moister. In winter, in order to avoid eating too much cold fat, lamb leg should be the best choice.
Sichuan peppercorn is the best partner with lamb and beef in soups. It helps to eliminate the raw smelly from the lamb meat. Another helpful side ingredient is white radish. However, after long time simmering, those white radish cubes are not delicious at all. But the soup can work great with fresh white radish. Strain the soup to remove any spices and other solid content, then add white radish slices and cook for 10 minutes. The soup usually is served along with the sliced lamb as a supplement.
Cook’s note
Soaking the lamb in the soup broth until completely cooled down can prevent the inner part over drying and better absorbing the aromas from the spices.
When using the hot oil dip, it is highly recommended soaking the slices in the oil for 10 to 20 seconds until the meat fiber absorb the oil inside. You can use quick dip for the dry spice mixture.
If you do not want to eat lamb, you can use beef shank as a substitute.
Ingredients
- 1.5kg lamb leg
- 1 small white radish, peeled and then cut into small cubes
- Coriander for decorating
- 2 green onions
- 1 tbsp. Sichuan peppercorn
- 1 small chunk of ginger
- 2 star anises
- 1 Amomum tsaoko
Hot oil dip
- 2 tbsp. chili pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup of oil
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2 minced garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp. light soy sauce
- 1/2 tbsp. vinegar
- 1/2 tbsp. sesame oil
- 2 tbsp. minced coriander stem
Dry spice mixture dip
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tbsp. chili pepper flakes
- 1 tbsp. ground cumin
Instructions
Bring a large pot of water to a boiling and then cook the lamb leg for 2-3 minutes. Transfer out and clean with warm water.Place the lamb in a clean pot, add green onion, ginger and all of the spices. Add enough water to cover (for regular pot, the water level should be at least 3 cm higher than the lamb). Optionally add white radishes cubes.
Bring to a boiling and then simmer for around 1 hour. Cover and let the lamb cool down completely in the soup. Transfer the lamb out and drain for around 1hour or cover and fridge overnight.
Finely slice the lamb. Lay a thin l layer of coriander in the serving plate and place the lamb slices one by one.
Make dry spice mixture dip
Heat around 1 teaspoon of salt over slow fire for 1 minute or until slightly browned.
Add 1 tablespoon of Chili pepper flakes and 1 tablespoon of ground cumin. Heat over slowest fire until aromatic. Transfer out to cool down.
Hot oil mixture: Mix 2 tablespoons of chili pepper flakes, 1/4 teaspoon of Sichuan peppercorn, 1 teaspoon of ground cumin, 2 minced garlic cloves and 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a small bowl. Heat 1/4 cup of oil in a small pot until almost smoky. Pour the hot oil into the mixture. Wait until slightly cooled. Then mix in sesame oil, light soy sauce, vinegar and minced coriander stem.
- 1.5 kg lamb leg
- 1 small white radish ,peeled and then cut into small cubes
- Coriander for decorating
- 2 green onions
- 1 tbsp. Sichuan peppercorn
- 1 small chunk of ginger
- 2 star anises
- 1 Amomum tsaoko
- 2 tbsp. chili pepper flakes
- 1/4 cup of oil
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2 minced garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp. light soy sauce
- 1/2 tbsp. vinegar
- 1/2 tbsp. sesame oil
- 2 tbsp. minced coriander stem
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 tbsp. chili pepper flakes
- 1 tbsp. ground cumin
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Bring a large pot of water to a boiling and then cook the lamb leg for 2-3 minutes. Transfer out and clean with warm water.
-
Place the lamb in a clean pot, add green onion, ginger and all of the spices. Add enough water to cover (for regular pot, the water level should be at least 3 cm higher than the lamb). Optionally add white radishes cubes.
-
Bring to a boiling and then simmer for around 1 hour. Cover and let the lamb cool down completely in the soup.
-
Dry spice mixture: heat around 1 teaspoon of salt over slow fire for 1 minute or until slightly browned. Add 1 tablespoon of Chili pepper flakes and 1 tablespoon of ground cumin. Heat over slowest fire until aromatic. Transfer out to cool down.
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Hot oil mixture: Mix 2 tablespoons of chili pepper flakes, 1/4 teaspoon of Sichuan peppercorn, 1 teaspoon of ground cumin, 2 minced garlic cloves and 1/2 teaspoon of salt in a small bowl. Heat 1/4 cup of oil in a small pot until almost smoky. Pour the hot oil into the mixture. Wait until slightly cooled. Then mix in sesame oil, light soy sauce, vinegar and minced coriander stem.
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Transfer it out and drain for 1 hour or in fridge overnight. Finely slice the lamb. Lay a thin l layer of coriander in the serving plate and place the lamb slices one by one.
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Serve with dipping sauces.
This looks delicious. Is it possible to use beef instead?
Thanks!
Beef is completely ok for this recipe.
Je ne sais si l’agneau est cher en Chine mais en France environ 250 le kilo, alors je ferais votre délicieuse recette avec du boeuf.
chantal
Hi Elaine, Amomum tsaoko is a new one for me. Is Black Cardamon a substitute or what do you suggest?
Hi Christopher,
Yes, black cardamon can work as a substitute.
It looks amazing!
Thanks! James.
What can you substitute Amomum tsaoko with?
No good substitute. But you can skip this one if it is very hard to access.
Quel régal !!! 😋
Merci pour cette recette aussi épicée que délicieuse ! J’ai utilisé du boeuf ayant une préférence pour cette viande..Tout le monde s’ est régalé grâce à vous Elaine !
Encore merci pour ce partage ! 🙂
Thanks Jean. Beef should work fine with it too. I am so glad to know that your family loves it too. Happy cooking!
Hi Elaine,
I first want to congratulate and thank you on creating such a wonderful site. your recipes are so good!
I had question regarding boiling meat. Is it better to keep it on high heat without a lid or simmer with a lid on?
Hammar
Simmer with slow fire with lid on.
Hi Elaine,
I know this doesn’t really fit on this page, but using lamb meat is what comes closest to my question. From the recipes I’ve seen lamb and maybe duck are the two only choices of meat that have a quite distinct or you might call it intense taste. Now I’ve always been wondering why I’ve only ever seen Chinese recipes using meat from domesticated animals. Why is that? There must me at least wild boars in China and probably some kind of deers to. Are they not eaten at all? Or only in old times? And why is that? Is it just not customary to hunt them for meat or is the taste deemed to be too strong?
Hi Andreas,
That’s an interesting question. China has a very large population. So firstly those wild animals are insufficient (lots of they are losing their quantity). Secondly, most of the wild animals like deers are protected by the government. Eating them is not allowed.
In fact, wild animals have rich flavors than domesticated animals.
Thank you for your answer Elaine,
the wild boars in China are quite lucky then 🙂 Around here certain quantities are hunted when they become too many and uproot the farmers fields too often. But that’s of course done under governmental control and by authorized and properly trained hunters only. The meat is then sold on local markets if it passes the required inspections to uphold food quality regulations.
But then again, there are a lot less Germans than Chinese and the boars and the humans have much less space to evade each other in a country as small as this one. So I understand why things are different in your country.