40. A Chinese islamic recipe: Oven grilled lamb leg

Tweet

烤羊腿

As promised, here is the recipe for Chinese grilled lamb , which I made for yesterday’s friends gathering.

A few friends have been asking already for some time how I prepare the lamb . Normally for small gatherings, I only make a few lamb chops or leg fillet; however, this time was one of those big gatherings where everyone would bring some food, (the host already prepared a lot), and I decided to prepare a medium size lamb leg .

Lamb and Chinese Ethnic Groups

This way of cooking lamb legs is not originally from the Northeast of China. I learnt it many years ago from somebody who came from Xinjiang , the beautiful and extensive province in the North West of China. (Xinjiang is comparable in size to Western Europe and borders many countries in central asia, such as Russia, Mongolia, Kazakhastan, and even India !)

In Xinjiang province, the majority of the population belongs to the Weiwu’er ethnic group , and lamb dishes are their speciality. I already mentioned that lamb is very important in the custom of Weiwu'er or Hui ethnic groups . For example, if you walk down the street in my city in the evening, there are many small stalls selling grilled lamb on a stick , and most of the sellers are from Xinjiang.

Lamb has become a very popular dish in the whole of China because of their influence. In fact, here is a popular chain of Islamic restaurants called "one cow" (although their specialty is to prepare a whole small lamb for their customers).

However, home grilled lamb leg in Northeast China is not common, mainly (probably) because Chinese home kitchens are traditionally not equipped with built in oven and grill, and selling a whole lamb leg is also not a common thing in the markets or butchers. Also, in Xinjiang the lamb is grilled directly over the fire flame!!

Chinese Grilled Lamb Leg

I am very glad that I learnt this way of cooking lamb, I often use the similar method to cook lamb pieces, chops, fillet, mince balls, etc. It is very different to usual Chinese stir frying or lamb in soup , but it is quite easy to make, and the time for preparation is very convenient, after that, it can just be left in the oven, then you can get on with making other dishes --- so it is definitely a dish recommended for having guests and you having to cook quite a few dishes -- it is very presentable , tasty, and time saving.

I think in some Western countries lamb legs are also grilled with potatoes and onions. However, the seasonings are very different.

I don’t really cook it often, almost forgot all the details of the recipe, but the main thing I did not forget, well, it is a very necessary ingredient, is cumin seeds . Most of the famous Chinese lamb dishes are with cumin. Others, I just followed my instinct.:) Hope my friends liked it yesterday.

The Recipe

I think there are only two things you need to pay attention to: one is the seasonings, the other one is the grilling time.

If you are in China, in most of the supermarkets, you can get ready-to-use grill seasonings. The most popular brand is "Wang shou yi" - a Islamic recipe seasoning which mainly consists of ground cumin, dried chilli, salt, sugar. Sometime, I would bring some back, but most of the time, I have to make it up myself.

As for grilling time, it needs to be long enough for the meat to be done, and all the seasonings go into it, at the same time, it should not get too dry, so the best way to avoid it is to slow cook it in the oven at lower temperature. (I have made it a bit dry yesterday, all our friends just being nice.:))

Here you go. (I forgot to take the last picture after it was done, since got to run to friend’s place… sorry, next time)

Ingredients

Lamb leg, potato, onion.

Spring onion, ginger, ground cumin, ground ginger, cumin seeds, salt, oil, light soy sauce, sugar, ground chilli, rice vinegar, sesame oil

Preparation

1) Slice the surface of lamb leg, "making some cuts", so the seasonings could go in easily.

2) Cut potato and onions into cubes.

3) Chop a good piece of ginger and 2 spring onions into small pieces.

4) Evenly spread chopped ginger and spring onion, around 6 -8 tablespoons of oil, 1 tablespoon of ground cumin, probably 1/2 tablespoon of ground ginger, 3 (or more) tablespoons of cumin seeds, 2 tablespoon of salt, 2 tablespoons of light soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of white sugar, 1 tablespoon of ground chilli, a few drops (only) of rice vinegar, and around 3 tablespoons of sesame oil on the lamb leg, make sure both sides have plenty of seasonings.

5) Put chopped potato and onions in the tray, and mix well with the same seasonings.

6) Leave the seasoned lamb leg for couple of hours (or longer).

Oven Cooking the Lamb Leg

Place the lamb leg tray into the oven, and set oven at 150 degrees, for 40 minutes, then lower down to 100 for further 1 hour. ( I use electric oven) Sometimes, if I am in rush, I just set the oven to 200 degrees for 45 minutes, it is still good, but the very inner layer could have less taste.

It is good to go with beer or wine of your choice. As for stable food, well, I guess lamb can really fill your stomach up, but if you like, with yesterday’s recipe raising flour bread (fa mian bing) is also not a bad combination.

There is another way of making it -- to soak the lamb leg in seasoned sauce over night (for example), then grill it for around 2 hours at low heat, and dip in the mixed seasonings when eating. Equally good. :)

10. Oven cooked fish in Chinese sauce

Tweet

中国式烤鱼

Fish in Chinese sauce

An important dish for a nice long holiday weekend, especially if you are having guests over. :)

Cooking fish in China

If you have read my earlier post on ‘Stir-fried fish’, you will understand why I say that cooking fish is very important in Chinese custom.

When fish is served,  the head of the fish should always face either the most important guest, or the oldest person at the table --- it is a sign of respect and welcome. According to Chinese custom, (at least) one or two meat dishes, a fish plate, and vegetables are all the 'must-have ones' for a nice table of food.

I learnt this particular recipe when we were invited for dinner by a lovely Chinese friend. She told me that she had learnt it from a chef in a Chinese restaurant in Spain. I cannot remember all the details, so for the second part of the cooking-- to make the sauce , I just prepared in the normal way.

The recipe: Chinese oven cooked fish

Anyway, I really want to say is that I cannot take much credit for this recipe. It is really easy to cook and super tasty. If you have a lazy day, or if you have guests coming, and you are too busy with other things, this dish is a really good option (both for the eyes and for the stomach. :)))

What distinguishes the way of cooking this dish from the standard way of cooking fish in the North East of China is that there is no need to fry the fish at all. Normally, in North East Chinese cuisine, fish is always oil fried first, then cooked in a sauce or pour the sauce on the top. ( A popular way of cooking called 'Jiaozhi').

The amazing thing about this dish is the combination of Western and Chinese methods. In the traditional Chinese kitchen, there is no built-in oven, so Chinese recipes never involve the use of an oven. This dish is definitely an exception and it is healthier than traditional Chinese recipes in which the fish needs to be fried. However, this dish is not totally Western either, because the final taste of the fish greatly depends on the sauce, and the sauce I will use here is a very typical Northeast Chinese fish sauce with a slight ‘sweet and sour’ taste.

Concerning the kind of the fish, I used sea bass, but any similar fish will do. (Saying this, my knowledge about different types of fish is rather limited; provided they taste good...).  In this fish supermarket in Oxford I mentioned before, sometimes, they have very good deals for sea bass, especially if you buy a few. :))

However, the serving could be a bit inconvenient… because of the bones. One day, we had a few close (non-Chinese) friends over. After placing the fish in a way that ‘shows respect’ towards our guests, my lovely French friend helped me get rid of the bones… and the head and the tail.:) Well, if you want to keep everything as it is, probably using chopsticks is the best choice, coz it is not easy to pick up the small bones by using a fork.

The whole cooking time probably 20 -25 minutes, but you only need to work for 5. (See, that is why I like preparing this dish-- lazy solution).

Ingredients

Fish: a cleaned whole fish with head and tail

Oil, salt, anise stars, sichuan peppercorn, ginger, spring onion, light soy sauce, rice vinegar, white sugar, coriander

Preparation

1)Slice the fish: evenly slice the fish on the surfaces of two sides (diagonally )

2) Chop a few pieces of ginger, spring onion, and coriander.

Cooking the fish

1) Place the fish in an oven tray, spray some oil and salt on the body of the fish, use hand to let it evenly cover the fish.

2) Put the fish in pre-heated oven for about 10-15 minutes, or when the skin of the fish is getting a bit ‘crispy’. (Oven is set at 200°c.)

3) When the fish is almost done, in a heated wok, pour in 5-6 table spoons of oil, when the oil is heated, put a few anise stars, a small spoon of sichuan peppercorn, ginger and spring onion.

Adding coriander

4) When the nice smell rises up from the wok, put half teaspoon of salt, a few drops of light soy sauce, 1 table spoon of rice vinegar, a tea spoon of sugar, and coriander.

5) Mix everything in wok well, then turn off the fire, pour the sauce on the fish. Close the oven door, turn off the oven.

Oven baked fish in Chinese sauce

6) Leave the fish in the oven for further 5-8 minutes.

--- Then, ready to serve!


Depends on how much you like vinegar and sugar, you can alter the amount. In Northeast cooking, we say that sichuan peppercorn powder and a few drops of rice vinegar is the best for getting rid of the ‘fishy’ smell. I like to serve this dish by keeping the fish in the oven tray, so people can dip in the sauce. This dish goes well with white wine or rice.

Oh, at last, don’t forget to place the head in the direction of the respectful guest on the table -- only if they don’t mind. :)))