Name: Shaanxi-style lamb with cumin and celery
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 4
Ingredients: 2 tbsp grapeseed oil; 600 gm coarsely minced lamb; 1 cinnamon quill, broken in half; 3 star anise; 30 gm ginger (about 6cm), finely chopped; 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped; 3 spring onions, white part cut into 2cm lengths, green part thinly sliced on the diagonal; 1 tsp dried chilli flakes; 1 tsp ground cumin; 6 small celery stalks, thinly sliced; 60 ml (¼ cup) Shaoxing wine; 60 ml (¼ cup) soy sauce; 1 tbsp Chinkiang vinegar; 2 tsp honey; Steamed rice, roasted sesame seeds and lemon wedges (optional), to serve

Shaanxi-style lamb with cumin and celery

This simple stir-fry might be quick to prepare, but it's full to bursting with flavour, thanks to a heady mix of ginger, cumin, cinnamon and star anise.

Serves 4

Prep

10M

Cook

15M

Total

25M

Avoid any temptation to use lean lamb mince in this dish, it needs the fat to melt down and become infused with the flavour of the spices to bring everything together. Lean mince just doesn’t give the same result.

Ingredients

2 tbsp grapeseed oil

600 gm coarsely minced lamb

1 cinnamon quill, broken in half

3 star anise

30 gm ginger (about 6cm), finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

3 spring onions, white part cut into 2cm lengths, green part thinly sliced on the diagonal

1 tsp dried chilli flakes

1 tsp ground cumin

6 small celery stalks, thinly sliced

60 ml (¼ cup) Shaoxing wine

60 ml (¼ cup) soy sauce

1 tbsp Chinkiang vinegar

2 tsp honey

Steamed rice, roasted sesame seeds and lemon wedges (optional), to serve

Method

1.Heat oil in a large non-stick frying pan or wok over high heat, add lamb, cinnamon and star anise, and cook, stirring occasionally, until lamb is well browned (8-10 minutes). Remove lamb from pan with a slotted spoon (there should be some lamb fat still in the pan), then add ginger, garlic, white part of spring onion and remaining spices, season to taste and stir-fry until aromatic (1-2 minutes). Add celery, stir-fry for 1 minute, then return lamb to pan with Shaoxing, soy sauce, vinegar and honey and stir until well combined (1 minute). Season to taste and serve on rice topped with sesame and spring onion greens, and with lemon on the side.

Maxwell Adey Senior Food Editor & Stylist

Maxwell has always been passionate about food. Born into a restaurateur and award-winning produce farming family, he was strongly steered into pursuing a career in advertising after completing his Bachelor of Public Communication at University of Technology, Sydney. After a very short stint, he decided to enrol in Commercial Cookery at TAFE to follow his true passion. Maxwell started out working in some of Sydney’s finest restaurants (Est., Claude’s and Moon Park) which helped further his love of all things culinary and developed his technical ability to cook. Later, he was lured into the magical world of food publishing where he freelanced for ten years for notable Australian commercial and editorial brands. He has also run his own business where he sells his marinated olives, dressings and sauces at food markets and select retailers. He excitingly joins the Gourmet Traveller team to bring his technical and creative expertise in food to the brand.

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Styling by Emma Knowles