Chinese lamb skewers

[Shalmanese]

I swear I've asked this question on here before but for the life of me, I can't seem to find the thread. Those lamb skewers they sell that are ubiquitous around Beijing, what are the spices that they use for that? I've tried searching for it but there are scant few mentions of recipes. There's definately Chile and Cumin but I have no idea what else is in there.

[Magictofu]

I swear I've asked this question on here before but for the life of me, I can't seem to find the thread. Those lamb skewers they sell that are ubiquitous around Beijing, what are the spices that they use for that? I've tried searching for it but there are scant few mentions of recipes. There's definately Chile and Cumin but I have no idea what else is in there.

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There is a copious amount of salt... otherwise I believe you have listed all the spices. Oh! don' forget to add lamb fat.

[Batard]

I swear I've asked this question on here before but for the life of me, I can't seem to find the thread. Those lamb skewers they sell that are ubiquitous around Beijing, what are the spices that they use for that? I've tried searching for it but there are scant few mentions of recipes. There's definately Chile and Cumin but I have no idea what else is in there.

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I know exactly what you mean, I had these off Beijing street carts and even had this spice in a nice lamb meal from room service at the airport hotel. There is definitely a special spice mix which is local and ubiquitous in Beijing area. We were also able to find this fresh ground in Jinan and we make our own lamb. The only problem is I could not read the labels, and my interpreter could not translate it. What little we brought home to US is gone for years now.

I have been dying to find out what this spice mix is too. Someone please help!

Edited January 12, 2008 by Batard (log)

[Fengyi]

There's zillions of variations on this - but one I've heard is to add a splash of beer (and that recommendation comes from a Xinjiang person...) to the meat before coating it in spices.

Also, keep in mind that some sources say that the 'ziran' 孜然can be considered to be black Cumin (kala jeera - if you're buying it at an Indian store) OR regular Cumin.

When I used to live back in the UK - I would use a mix of ground cumin and toasted whole Black cumin and regular Cumin to try and re-create it. That would work quite well.

And as Magictofu says, be heavy handed with the salt (and MSG if you're into that) and also bring on the lamb fat!

Actually, be heavy handed with all the seasonings!! It' works out the best in the end. . .

However, the biggest obstacle to re-creating these skewers is the type of meat. If you can get hold of (or hogget-sp?) it will be much tastier and closer to the Beijing experience.

Have fun experimenting

Next time I buy a ready-made pack from the supermarket, I will check on the ingredients, but it's probably as you've said: salt, cumin (and/or Black cumin), chile powder....

(also see jhirshon's thread below for more tips...)

Edited January 13, 2008 by Fengyi (log)