Chinese Xinjiang Lamb Skewers
By Lee Jackson ↣ Published on: January 20, 2020
Sweet, tender and juicy lamb is coated with the most amazing blend of earthy, warming spice with a kick of chilli heat. Charred to perfection on the grill, Chinese Xinjiang lamb skewers are one of the tastiest flavour combinations on the planet.
I’m a huge fan of skewered meats, all around the world there are countless memorable recipes for meat on sticks, charred to perfection on the grill. This Chinese dish has everything I love and more.
This recipe features in my curated Asian Collection, and also alongside more recipes just like it in the Asian Street Food Collection too.
It’s one of my absolute favourites — a bold, spicy blend that clings beautifully to lamb, charring into perfection over a hot grill. The flavour is a unique fusion of Central Asian and Chinese influences, unlike anything you’ve tasted before.
What is Xinjiang Lamb?
Xinjiang lamb is a beloved dish in China, especially in the Xinjiang region where it originates with the Uyghur people. Lamb is coated in a fragrant mix of cumin, chilli and garlic, then skewered and grilled over high heat, similar to satay. The result is intensely aromatic, tender meat often served with naan, rice or vegetables, and commonly enjoyed during festivals.
Shaped by the region’s geography, Xinjiang cuisine shows strong Persian and Turkic influences, especially in its use of lamb and cumin. In the West, Chinese restaurants decorated with hanging grapes are usually Uyghur — a nod to their agricultural heritage — and you can almost guarantee these delicious lamb skewers will be on the menu.
Why they work
They’re intensely flavourful – The lamb on the skewers is tender and juicy. If you’re up for it, the skewers can also be threaded with pieces of lamb fat, which help self-baste the meat. They also offer a burst of the most delicious lamb flavour in their own right.
They’re spicy! – Most versions of the lamb skewers I’ve enjoyed have been SPICY! I love spicy food, but you can dial the heat down by using less chilli or a milder chilli flake like Aleppo Pepper. The cumin rounds off the spice with its warm, earthy notes.
Stuff you'll need
You won’t need much to get these Xinjiang lamb skewers going – all your effort goes into creating the spice rub for the lamb.
- Spices – cumin seeds, chilli flakes, black peppercorns, Sichuan peppercorns (numbing spicy magic), chilli powder, ginger powder, garlic cloves and salt are combined to form a rub.
- Lamb – I use leg or shoulder meat. I trim off the fat but use some of it (one or two pieces) on each skewer to help keep the meat tender and juicy. Try it, you’ll notice a huge difference.
Step by Step
Much of the heavy lifting is done by the spice rub. All you need to do is marinate the meat. A little forward-planning and patience is all that’s required and pays off ten-fold in flavour. Every hour you can wait, is another notch on the flavour chart. I leave my meat to develop for 24 hours.
- Step 1 – Heat a dry frying pan until hot. Add the whole spices and toast until they begin to dance around the pan.
- Step 2 – Using a spice grinder or pestle & mortar into a semi-rough powder, like a fine breadcrumb, stir in the ground spices and salt and set aside.
- Step 3 – Cut the lamb into smallish cubes and pop in a bag. Tip in the spice mix and toss around to coat all the lamb. Pop in the fridge for 24-hours.
- Step 4 – Thread your skewers. If you’re using wooden skewers, soak them first for an hour in water to stop them burning on the grill. I suggest buying some metal skewers – I’ve never looked back!
- Step 5 – Grill the skewers for 3-4 minutes each side, basting with a little oil once or twice to keep everything nice and juicy. That’s it!
Pro Tips to make your life easier
- Pre-skewer your lamb – Once you’ve tossed the lamb in the coating, you can go right to the skewering stage. Arrange on a platter and cover with plastic. Refrigerate for 24-hours. You’ll be good to grill direct from the fridge, but bringing the meat up to room temperature gives better results.
- Don’t like spicy? – You can replace the hot chilli flakes with a milder chilli flake like Aleppo pepper or use a little sweet paprika instead.
- Don’t have a BBQ grill? – No problem, heat your broiler/oven grill to the hottest setting, brush the lamb with oil on all sides and cook under the broiler until charred (4-5 minutes) then turn and repeat on the other side for 2-3 minutes more.
- Don’t have skewers? – You can use this rub/marinade on chops, steaks and roasts too. You can also make stir-fried lamb (cut thinly) alongside onion and green peppers in a little oil.
Serving and storing suggestions
- Serving - I like to serve my Chinese lamb skewers with flatbreads, which are most common in this region. I like to sit the lamb on top of the bread to catch any juices and serve alongside a fresh salad of cooling cucumber, tomato and lettuce.
- Leftovers - will stay good in the fridge for 4-5 days. Freezing leftovers isn't so great, so I don't recommend.
Ready to get cooking?
Xinjiang lamb skewers make for a totally different BBQ experience and a great of fresh (spicy) air for special BBQ celebrations. This is one of my most favourite Chinese recipes and I cook it even in the winter (I’ll pop on my coat and gloves to stand by the BBQ).
I just love the heady earthiness of all that cumin and chilli, it’s a real treasure and definitely worth the wait for the marinade to do its magic.
More Chinese recipes
If you liked this recipe for Xinjiang Lamb Skewers, you’ll be sure to enjoy more of my favourite Chinese recipes.
- Chicken Egg Foo Young
- Pork Rib Soup with Noodles
- Chinese Shandong Roast Chicken
- Chinese Oxtail Soup
- Duck Congee
- Taiwanese 3-Cup Chicken (San Bei Ji)
- Chinese Braised Pork Belly – Hong Shao Rou (Instant Pot Style)
- Chinese Cucumber Salad
- Chinese Chilli Oil Dumplings
- Chinese Snow Pea Shoots with Garlic
- Chinese Eggplant
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb lamb shoulder or leg meat (cut into 1-inch cubes)
- 2 tbsp peanut oil
How to make the spice rub
- 2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp chilli flakes
- 2 tsp black peppercorns
- 1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns
- 1/2 tsp chilli powder
- 1 tsp ginger powder
- 4 garlic cloves (very finely chopped)
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
How to make the spice rub
- Heat a frying pan, dry over a moderate heat until hot. Place the cumin, chilli flakes, black peppercorns and Sichuan peppercorns and toast dry for 1-2 minutes. Remove from the pan and add to a spice/coffee grinder or pestle and mortar.
- Grind the spices into a rough texture (see pic above). Stir in the chilli powder, ginger powder, garlic and salt. Pour over the oil and mix to combine well. Set aside.
How to make the skewers
- Add the spice rub to the lamb cubes and massage into the meat with your hands to coat all the lamb well. Place in a bag and refrigerate for as long as you can - 4 hrs minimum, 24 hours is BEST! If you're using wooden skewers, now is the time to soak these in water, to ensure they don't disintegrate on the grill.
- Once marinated, thread cubes of meat (and fat) onto the skewers (about 8-10 pieces per skewer).
- Cook on a hot BBQ grill or hot oven grill for about 10-12 minutes, turning regularly. Remove from the grill, rest for a couple of minutes and serve!
Notes
- Pre-skewer the lamb after coating it in the seasoning to save time later. Refrigerate the lamb for 24 hours, covered with plastic.
- After being in the fridge, bring the lamb up to room temperature before grilling for better results.
- Substitute hot chilli flakes with milder options like Aleppo pepper or sweet paprika.
- Cook the lamb under a broiler or oven grill if you don't have a BBQ grill.
- Use the seasoning for chops, steaks, and roasts if you don't have skewers.
- Make stir-fried lamb by thinly slicing and then marinating. Fry in a little oil with onions and green peppers.
- Serving - I like to serve my Xinjiang lamb skewers with flatbreads, which are most common in this region. I like to sit the lamb on top of the bread to catch any juices and serve alongside a fresh salad of cooling cucumber, tomato and lettuce.
- Leftovers - will stay good in the fridge for 4-5 days. Freezing leftovers isn't so great, so I don't recommend.
Nutrition
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Mate, cooked these up the other day. Didn’t last long. In fact when I sat down to eat there were none left. Had to do another batch the following day. Great recipe
I LOVE these skewers!!! I want them right now. Damn it!!!
Awesome recipe!! Thanks so much!! I loved it!!! <3 :)
Thanks for the receipe. It turns out great.
Hey, I dont usually comment on websites, but just wanted to thank you for this recipe. Comes up great. I add a bit more chilli to mine and use a combo of ground and whole cumin.