Grilling Recipe: Lamb Chuanr Recipes from The Kitchn

My Chinese teacher once told me that all Beijing expats start out by learning the same three words: nihao, pijiu, and yangrou chuanr - hello, beer, and lamb chuanr. Those three words are the essentials, because that's all you need to know to get a great dinner anywhere in the city, just find the nearest chuanr stand.

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Chuanr (pronounced like "chwar") are skewers of food seasoned with cumin and chili powder, then cooked over a propane or charcoal grill. They're the most common street food in Beijing, though they're originally from the Xinjiang area in the Northwest.

Grilled lamb is the most classic form, but chuanr can be made out of anything: chicken chunks, chicken wings, chicken hearts, beef, pork, steamed buns, etc. Chicken wings make particularly wonderful chuanr, and I highly recommend trying them.

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There are probably as many ways of making chuanr as there are people making them. Everyone has their particular tastes; for example, I like to brush a little Shaoxing wine onto my chuanr before cooking them. Not everybody loves chuanr so spicy that flames shoot from their eyes, so the chili powder can be increased or decreased according to taste.

I like to make my chuanr seasoning in large batches, because once you've acquired the taste for it, it can go on pretty much everything; it makes a wonderful flatbread, and I've even had it on a Xinjiang lamb pizza.

Chuanr are spicy, delicious, and highly addictive. I remember saying, "I'll just try one," and the next thing I knew I was camped out next to a sizzling grill in 100-degree weather, a bouquet of skewers in one hand and a cold beer in the other. There are certainly other ways to eat them, but that's probably the best.

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Lamb Chuanr

Makes about 20 skewers

1 1/2 - 2 pounds lamb breast
2 tablespoons Shaoxing wine or dry sherry (optional)
3 tablespoons cumin seeds
1 tablespoons Chinese chili powder
2 teaspoons powdered garlic
2 teaspoons powdered fennel
2 teaspoons kosher salt

Carve the lamb breast meat off the bones and cut them into small chunks of approximately 1" by 1/2" by 1/2", leaving the fat attached. Spear the lamb on bamboo grilling skewers, so the layers alternate between fat and meat. If you choose to use Shaoxing wine, brush it over all the meat and let the skewers rest for 15 minutes.

While the skewers are resting, preheat a gas or charcoal grill to high heat.

Make the chuanr seasoning by stirring together the cumin seeds, chili powder, powdered garlic, powdered fennel, and kosher salt.

Shake the chuanr seasoning liberally over the skewers, coating the meat thoroughly.

Put the skewers on the grill, cook for four minutes, then turn them. The fat will start to melt and become semi-translucent. Continue grilling until the meat is cooked through, about 8-10 minutes total.

Remove the skewers from the grill and distribute. Chuanr are best served by the handful, with beer.

(Images: Elizabeth Licata)

Comments (6)

Sounds amazing!! When you say "Chinese peppercorn" area you referring to sichuan peppercorn (花椒)?

I can't wait to make this! Thanks!

Buying lamb stew meat will speed up the process considerably. Soak the skewers in some wine or beer the night before. This will 1. Keep the skewers from burning and 2. infuse the meat with flavor and keep it juicy inside. Happy grilling!

@Operator: I meant chili peppers, not Sichuan peppercorns. Lajiao, not huajiao. A lot of time if you buy "chili powder" in the store in the US, you'll get a spice blend meant for use in chili. The one I used was all dried Tien Tsin chili peppers. You can grind them yourself, or get pre-ground chili powder at Asian markets. Sometimes it comes in different grains, and in that case I like a medium one. The closest duplicate I found is actually red pepper flakes, like you'd see on the table at an Italian restaurant.

@Rivkasmom: Indeed, that sounds like it would probably be very tasty. The biggest difference I found between making chuanr in the U.S. and China is the flavor and character of the meat itself. In China, the lamb in chuanr is much tougher and has a stronger scent and gamier flavor, so a fatty cut like the breast is preferred because it winds up less tough on the grill. (A chuanr on the street is usually like 30- to 60-percent fat.) But when I was making them here, I was surprised by how much softer and more tender and fatty the meat was, and how much milder the scent and flavor were. With a conventionally raised lamb in the U.S., I think nearly any cut would work in a pinch and be delicious. (In the interest of further experimentation, I intend to get my hands on a free-range, grass-fed goat breast sometime this summer.)

If I don't have a grill, can I make something like this in the oven or stove top?

We love lamb in my house. When we do make this dish, it will be hard to pair with a wine because of the spice. But I think I'll go with a white wine...the cumin and chili powder won't do well with tannic acid, so an off-dry Gewurztraminer should do the trick.