When I moved into my new apartment a few months ago, the first thing I did was take inventory of the cupboards. (The previous tenants had left a decent supply of spices, oils, and condiments.) The second thing I did, even though it was almost 10pm by the time I was done unpacking, was march over the Trader Joe’s and buy ground cumin. I had not planned on cooking that night. It just made me sleep better, knowing my kitchen was no longer eggregiously understocked.
Other than sea salt, cumin is the spice that I cannot with without. If I were only allowed two spices on a deserted island (with an otherwise fully-stocked kitchen), and had to choose between cumin and a pepper grinder, the former might win out. Just a whiff of toasted cumin seeds brings back a flood of memories of the best foods I have ever eaten: melty lamb shoulder from a Yemeni restaurant in Brooklyn, late night beef kebabs from a street vendor in Beijing, pilau from an Afghani restaurant near Boston.
On this blog already I have already made a good number of salads and other vegetarian dishes with cumin, but here’s one for red meat eaters. Cumin is normally used in a lot of western Chinese cooking, such as that from Xi’an or the Xinjiang province, but periodically shows up in Hunan and Sichuan cooking as well.
Hunan’s version of stir-fried beef with cumin combines cumin with the fresh and dried chilis the province is known for. My version is pretty spicy, but manageable (maybe 2 out of 3 chili pepper rating.) Buy the tenderest beef you can find and slice it very thin, for quick stir-frying. And feel free to add more fresh and dried chilis if you can withstand it.
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Spicy Hunan Beef with Cumin
Serves 4
1 pound beef sirloin
Marinade
2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine
2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 ounces peanut or vegetable oil
2 tablespoons finely chopped ginger
2 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
2 or 3 bird’s eye chilis, finely chopped
1 teaspoon dried red chili flakes (more if you want spicier)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1. Cut the beef against the grain into thin slices (about 1/4-inch thick). Put the slices into a bowl with the marinade ingredients and set aside for 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Heat the peanut or vegetable oil in a wok or pan over medium-high heat. Add the beef and stir-fry for about 3 to 4 minutes, or until the meat is just cooked. Remove from the heat and set aside.
3. With the wok still over medium-high heat, add the ginger, garlic, chopped chilis, chili flakes, and cumin. Stir-fry for about 30 seconds (just until fragrant). Return the beef to the wok and season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Remove from the heat, garnish with scallions, and serve.
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More cumin-centric recipes:
Black Bean Quinoa Salad with Cherry Tomatoes
Eggplant, Cumin, and Black Bean Salad
Baked Eggs with Saffron and Cumin
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
Dude, what magic Traders Joe’s is open at 10pm! ;-)
This is slightly off-topic, but I really, really love cumin + chili + barbecue. I could eat the powder with a spoon… slowly. :P
Wei-Wei
The one on Court St. and the one in Union Sq are both open til 10pm. :) Got there right before.
I’m also a huge cumin fan, and this sound wonderful!
A Szechuan place down the street makes a killer, spicy cumin lamb dish. I’ll be this would be great with lamb as well.
use spices and condiments left over from the last tenant? Haha, there’s probably nothing wrong with that, but I’m very personal about my spices! ;)
Hi, will it be okay to substitute the beef with firm tofu? I would need to fry the tofu first right?
Thanks! =)
Yes, you can definitely substitute with firm tofu. Just find the firmest tofu available, or even try tofu skin (available in Chinese supermarkets) or tempeh.
wow…your photography is amazing! I just want to reach in and take a piece…
Hi, could you tell me the Chinese name for cumin? I’m in China now for a few months and am finding it quite hard to cook at home. This looks like something I’d like to try!
The Chinese for cumin is "zi ran", written as 孜然. Hope that helps!
thank you! :)
An excellent recipe!! Obviously I haven’t been using cumin enough. Thanks!
I had a dish similar to this in a Hunan restaurant in a foodcourt somewhere in Shenzhen with my fiancee and a colleague of hers.
The beef was cut almost to the size of corn-flakes and as far as I could tell there was only beef, red peppers (cut into thin thin rings) and (red) onion. I think it was prepared in an oven though and it was quite spicy but not too a flash-ignition level :-)
I have no idea what the marinade was made of though. If I go back with my (now wife) I’ll try and visit the same restaurant and order the dish again (and analyze it).
I think I have a picture of it somewhere…
Yes, please send a link to your photo. I’ve never had this (or any other Hunan beef dish) baked. Sounds like a great dish!
This stir fried beef is very delicious and fairly easy prepare. The ingredient that I used is very similar to yours, however the cooking steps may be slightly different. After marinating stage, I dusted the beef with generous amount of corn flour and dipped it into hot oil for 3-4 min or until it is light golden brown. After this I stirred fry the rest of ingredient (garlic, ginger & chilli flakes) and return the beef to the wok again. Once I removed the meat from the heat, I garnished with scallions and lot of freshly grinded szechuan peppercorn. I tender the beef with my new purchased meat mallet
Tried a variant using lamb and whole cumin seeds last night, (which I had had in a Hunan restaurant in Dong Guan), and it was amazing.