Cumin lamb (Ziran yangrou)

1. Cut the lamb across the grain into thin slices 4-5 cm long and mix with the soy sauce, Shaoxing rice wine and cornflour; leave to rest for 15 minutes.

2. Toast the whole cumin seeds in a dry pan for half a minute, then crush them coarsely in a mortar; do the same with the Sichuan pepper.

3. Cut the onion into thin wedges and slice the garlic, break the dried chillies in half and roughly chop the coriander.

4. Heat the wok over high heat until very hot, add half the oil and sear the lamb in two batches, spread out, for 2 minutes until browned, then remove.

5. In the remaining oil, fry the onion, garlic and chillies for 1 minute, return the lamb, sprinkle with the cumin, Sichuan pepper and salt, and toss over high heat for another minute.

6. Take off the heat, fold in half the coriander, scatter the rest on top and serve with rice or steamed buns (mantou).

Tip: This is the flavour of Xinjiang's Uyghur street food, where lamb and cumin are inseparable. If you don't have whole cumin you can use ground, but add it only at the very end, as it burns quickly.