China · Chinese

Wind-dried lamb slices

Salt-and-spice cured, wind-dried lamb leg, steamed or braised until tender and sliced thin. Traditional across Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi and the Anhui Dabie region. Public reference · home adaptation, not a historical original.

90 minutes · 4 servings · advanced

Wind-dried lamb slices

Public reference · Home adaptation Wind-dried lamb is a long-standing winter meat-preservation method in northern grasslands and western Anhui. In Manchu–Han banquet menus the dish appears as thin slices with wine. Huoshan wind-dried lamb (Anhui) was added to the “Ten Classic Anhui Dishes” in 2018; Yejilamb is on the local intangible cultural heritage list. Traditional air drying runs 15–30 days in winter cold air. This adaptation uses 500 g lamb leg chunks, cures cold and finishes with thorough braising. Salt, drying time and braising heat are editorial estimates. Lamb retains strong aroma — start in cold water and skim, then cook to ≥74°C centre. Contains lamb and alcohol from rice wine. Salt-cured meats are high in sodium — limit intake for hypertension, kidney disease or gout. No nitrite added in this version. 百度百科：风干羊肉 — Regional traditions, typical season and braising practices for wind-dried lamb. https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E9%A3%8E%E5%B9%B2%E7%BE%8A%E8%82%89 酒泉市人民政府网：日照风干羊肉 — Salting, drying and braising steps in the traditional Kazakh version. https://www.jiuquan.gov.cn/jiuquan/c111571/202311/13fae9f9846d4f638f3e1618fedd7ba8.shtml Newton 中文百科全书：霍山風乾羊 — Process and regional classification of Anhui Dabie wind-dried lamb. https://newton.com.tw/wiki/%E9%9C%8D%E5%B1%B1%E9%A2%A8%E4%B9%BE%E7%BE%8A/22874484 FoodSafety.gov: Safe Minimum Internal Temperature — ≥74°C centre temperature guideline for lamb. https://www.foodsafety.gov/food-safety-charts/safe-minimum-internal-temperatures AI-generated illustration; not kitchen-tested.

Ingredients

  • lamb leg, silverskin removed500 g
  • fine salt28 g
  • Shaoxing rice wine40 ml
  • five-spice powder (star anise, cinnamon, Sichuan pepper, clove, fennel)3 g
  • ginger15 g
  • scallion20 g
  • whole white pepper2 g

Directions

  1. 1

    Cut lamb leg into strips and pat dry. Mix salt, lightly cracked white pepper and five-spice powder; rub into the strips. Add the rice wine, ginger and scallion.

  2. 2

    Cover and cure at 4°C for 5 days, turning once a day so the flavour is even.

  3. 3

    Place strips on parchment-lined trays in the fridge (not frozen) for 2–3 more days until the surface tightens and the flesh is clearly drier. Avoid freezing, which damages the fibres.

  4. 4

    Place dried lamb in a pot, cover with cold water, add ginger, scallion and remaining pepper. Boil, skim, then simmer covered 55–60 minutes until a chopstick slides easily and the centre reaches ≥74°C.

  5. 5

    Lift out, cool, slice thinly against the grain, plate and serve; a pinch of white pepper finishes the aroma. Leftover broth works well as a soup or noodle base.

Source: WorldBite · public-reference adaptation · Source-attributed editorial adaptation; AI illustration; not an authenticated original recipe.