When I travelled to Xinjiang with mom, her friends and their kids, 5 moms + 4 daughters, 1 son back in the late 2000s, we had such a blast. Fighting for simple dish like stir-fry tomato with eggs, running uphill for 10 lamb bbq skewers for only 5RMB back then while becoming breathless at such high altitude, walking out of hotel lobby to see the stars, which are so bright that we do not need to walk far from hotel’s strong light source. The people, the culture, the foods, all linger in my head and sparks occasionally when reminiscent. Xinjiang lamb pilaf, as representative and symbolic as it gets, of course is the top dish I want to make when I get my hands on lamb. Googling and asking around for its recipe, I was surprised to find out it is very simple! Yet, making it the first time, I still don’t think it is anything close to what I had tasted in Xinjiang. As I improved the cooking process and taste, I will definitely come back to update the post!
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- lamb dish, like pilaf, does not need a lot of marinating / ingredients as the unique lamb taste is sufficient.
- do not add too much water to rice cooker as carrots and onions will produce water when cooking in the rice cooker.
RECIPE
- 2lb boneless lamb chunks (lamb shrank, lamb legs, lamb stew all works!)
- salt and pepper
- cumin power, cumin seeds (if like the flavors)
- 1bag of shredded carrots
- 1/2 sliced onion
- 1 cup rice
- raisin
STEP 0: marinate lamb chunks with salt, pepper and cumin powder overnight, especially if you are sensitive to the lamb smell.
STEP 2: in hot pan, add oil and stir fry a bag of shredded carrots and onion, till carrots are soften and onion slices turn golden.
STEP 3: in the center of the pan, add in marinated lamb chunks and stir fry; when lamb fat comes out in hot pan, it can be absorbed by the veggies and adds fragrance. Sprinkle more cumin powder, salt as needed.
STEP 4: add in washed rice (around 1 cup) and stir fry till all ingredients cover rice well, and rice slightly turn white from transparent raw state.
STEP 5: transfer all ingredients to rice pot, add water till it JUST cover the rice; this should be less water than usual as carrots, onions all produce water when cooking in rice cooker. Sprinkle raisins on top. Press cooking rice button.
STEP 6: when rice is done cooking, use spatula to mix it well. Add soy sauce as needed.
READY TO SERVE!
RESOURCES
