Susan Jung’s recipes for lamb kidneys Sichuan style and with brandy and cream
Our food editor reveals the secrets to perfect lamb kidneys – the trick is in the preparation.What’s more, these dishes each take just a few minutes to cook
The secrets to a delicious kidney dish lie in cleaning the organs thoroughly and not overcooking them. They shouldn’t have any whiff of “barnyard”; if they do, I’ve heard that soaking them in milk will rid them of the pong, but it’s better to use well-cleaned kidneys in the first place.
Stir-fried lamb kidneys with cumin, Sichuan peppercorns, garlic, Chinese celery and chillies
Once all the ingredients have been prepared, this dish takes less than five minutes to cook. If you overcook the kidneys, they will be tough. Serves six to eight, as part of a Chinese meal.
700 grams whole lamb kidneys, or about
450 grams cleaned kidneys
1-2 tsp Sichuan peppercorns
3 garlic cloves
1 tsp whole cumin seeds
6 stalks Chinese celery
4-6 dried red chillies
1 -2 banana chillies and/or red bird’s-eye chillies, or to taste
About 15ml soy sauce, or to taste
Fine sea salt, if needed
10ml cooking oil
