And on a related note, apparently cumin lamb is not a Sichuan dish either, but originates from the Xinjiang region - I had no idea, always assumed it was Sichuan! https://thewoksoflife.com/cumin-lamb/
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Yeah, clearly lots of crossover from the various provinces. Donât mind it one bit 
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I would think Cumin Lamb is eaten in Sichuan province, even if itâs origin is associated with the neighboring province . So I say, close enough.
Food borders are not hard and fast, as we all know after years of posting online
Iâve made this a few times and liked it. My Sichuan peppercorn seems to have lost some of its punch, so I amped up the dry spice mixture with some cayenne as well. a nice dish.
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Some preparations rely heavily on doubanjiang (fermented broad bean paste) or douchi (fermented black beans) but many do not and instead the key is a balance of tingly, spicy, sour, and fresh.
So you can definitely explore the cuisine at home without it being a sodium bomb.
A few of my favorite dishes are vegetables / salads: woodear / black fungus, lotus root, and shredded potato. The method of preparation is often similar: blanch, then toss with the dressing, and finish with something fresh (cilantro, scallion). The dressing is (black or rice) vinegar, garlic, chilli, sugar, oil, and sichuan peppercorn if you want it tingly. (I had to buy a new bag of sichuan peppper because the first bag â also new â yielded no tingle.)
Even in proteins, there are many that do not rely on the salt bomb ingredients, or use only a small amount for flavor â eg dry fried, âstrangeâ flavored, hot and sour / pickled, âfish fragrantâ (spicy garlic sauce).
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Sichuan cauliflower and shiitake mushrooms, summer shark with rice vinegar and cilantro (Sichuan adjacent).
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KUNG PAO CHICKEN
So, I made Fuchsia Dunlopâs kung pao chicken today for tomorrowâs lunch. It pretty quick work marinate chicken in soy sauce, wine, corn starch, and water. Then stir fry with ginger, garlic, scallions, red chiles, peanuts, and Sichuan peppercorns (click the article for the correct order to add stuff to your wok!). Then sauce it up with black vinegar, light and dark soy sauce, sesame oil, water, and a touch of cornstarch. It doesnât make a ton of sauce (itâs intended to be one of a few dishes to eat with rice at a meal), so if you like sauce triple or quadruple the sauce part. I had some leftover rice, so I decided to turn it into a kung pao inspired fried rice. I will have it with some broccoli tomorrow. Everything tasted great while I was making it, so I am very much looking forward to tomorrowâs lunch!
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Looks great!
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Thanks!
