Name: Spicy and Tingly Lamb Face Salad (麻辣羊脸肉)
Yield: Serves 2
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 1 Chinese or Persian cucumber, thinly sliced into slivers (optional); ½ longhorn pepper, seeded and cut into slivers; 1½ teaspoons Sichuan peppercorn powder (for lamb leg, reduce to 1 teaspoon); 1 whole lamb’s head, about 4½ pounds (2 kg), or 1 pound (455 g) boneless lamb leg meat; ½ sprig cilantro, cut into ½-inch (12 mm) segments; 1½-inch (4 cm) piece fresh ginger, peeled and sliced (for lamb leg, a 1-inch, or 2.5 cm piece); 1 green onion, trimmed and cut into 2-inch (5 cm) segments; 10 bay leaves (for lamb leg, 8 bay leaves); 2 tablespoons XFF Noodle Sauce; 1 teaspoon fennel seeds; 1 tablespoon Garlic Puree (for lamb leg, reduce to 2 teaspoons); 1 green onion, trimmed and cut into slivers; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon XFF Chili Oil seeds; 2 tablespoons XFF Chili Oil; 2 teaspoons Sichuan peppercorns; 1 black cardamom pod, cracked; 5 star anise pods; 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil; 3-inch (7.5 cm) cinnamon stick

Preparation info

Serves
2

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Xi'an Famous Foods

By Jason Wang

Published 2020

About

Walk into any butcher shop in Xi’an and chances are you’re going to see a few animal heads strung up, all full of different muscles and tendons. This salad was inspired by the ubiquity of these heads, another home experiment from my dad, who likes to utilize every part of the animal. The adventure-seeking food world took to it, if not for its shock value then for its textures and flavors. A single plate would always hold a surprise: You would get some muscles and tendons and some meat, but