I may be being naïve, but cumin is a spice that I never thought I would taste within Chinese cookery. I always associate it with Indian food. I could never make any form of Indian curry without the use of cumin seeds! Grinding your own seeds with a mortar and pestle creates the most aromatic smell in your kitchen and an incredible taste in your curry. Seeing as India and China are neighbours, it now seems only logical that cumin would also be an essential flavouring in Chinese cuisine. One of the dishes in which cumin features heavily is a stir fry using beef as the main ingredient; extremely popular within the foreign community. Often just called Cumin Beef (孜然牛肉), you can order this dish in most Chinese restaurants; it can be served on its own or over noodles with green peppers and onions. I decided to try and recreate it in my own kitchen; this was the best tasting dish I could make.

Serves: 3
Method: Stir Fry
Time: 45 minutes
Difficulty: 5/10

INGREDIENTS

1. 300-400 grams beef steak
2. 2 tsps light soy sauce
3. 2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
4. 1 tsp of ginger, minced/finely chopped
5. 1 tbsp plain flour
6. 2-3 fresh red chillies, finely chopped
7. 3 teaspoons ground cumin
8. 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
9. A pinch of salt
10. 2 tbsp oil

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DIRECTIONS

1. First, you will need to marinade the beef. Cut it into thin slices, then, in a bowl add the soy sauce, salt, wine, flour and a splash of water. Mix all these ingredients together and then add the beef to the mixture. Leave to marinade for around 30 minutes. Adding flour, liquid and salt to the marinade is a classic Chinese technique which is called “velveting”. This helps the meat stay soft and moist and is used frequently in many Chinese stir fries.
2. Get your wok ready! Add the oil to the pan, wait until smoking hot and add the beef. You now have to keep moving the beef around the wok continuously or it will burn. Keep stirring for around 3-4 minutes until cooked. Take the wok off the heat, drain away half of the oil and remove the beef from the pan.
3. Put the wok back on the heat with the remaining oil over a medium-high heat. Once hot, add the ginger, garlic, cumin and red chillies and stir until they are aromatic and fragrant. Put the beef back in the wok and stir briefly until all seasonings and the beef have been incorporated and evenly distributed.
4. Finally, remove it all from the wok and serve.

The dish was completed in less than 15 minutes, and tasted absolutely amazing. My friends really enjoyed it too. It tasted authentic, and not as greasy as many other variants. Let the smell of spices take over your kitchen!