Xinjiang cumin lamb skewers

Name: Xinjiang cumin lamb skewers
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 1 h 30 min
Ingredients: 600 g lamb shoulder, cut into 2 cm cubes, keeping some fat; ½ onion, grated, for marinating; 1 tbsp neutral vegetable oil; 2 tbsp cumin, seeds, coarsely crushed; 1 tbsp red chilli flakes; 1½ tsp salt; ½ tsp sichuan peppercorns, ground (optional); 1 tsp sesame seeds (optional)

Non-vegetarian

羊肉串 · yángròu chuàn

Small chunks of lamb threaded onto skewers and grilled over high heat with a heavy dusting of cumin, chilli and salt. The smoky street snack of Xinjiang's night markets, now found all over China.

Xinjiang cumin lamb skewers is a Chinese grilled dish from China, ready in about 1 hour 30 minutes and made with lamb shoulder and cumin. It serves 4 and is rated easy to cook.

Start cooking

Rows of cumin-spiced lamb skewers cooking on a grill — Photo: SoHome Jacaranda Lilau / Wikimedia Commons · public-domain

Prep: 20 min
Cook: 10 min
Rest: 1 h
Total: 1 h 30 min
Serves: 4
Level: Easy
Calories: 460

Ingredients

4 servings

600 g Lamb shoulder (opens in a new tab), cut into 2 cm cubes, keeping some fat
½ (55 g) Onion (opens in a new tab), grated, for marinating
1 tbsp (14 g) Neutral vegetable oil (opens in a new tab)
2 tbsp (13 g) Cumin (opens in a new tab), seeds, coarsely crushed
1 tbsp (5.5 g) Red chilli flakes (opens in a new tab)
1½ tsp (9 g) Salt (opens in a new tab)
½ tsp (1 g) Sichuan peppercorns (opens in a new tab), ground (optional)
1 tsp (3 g) Sesame seeds (opens in a new tab) (optional)Contains sesame

Equipment

Method

1
Step 1
Toss the lamb with the grated onion (opens in a new tab) and oil and marinate for an hour in the fridge.
- 5 min
How it looks · Photo: Ip Photographer on Pexels
2
Step 2
Mix the cumin (opens in a new tab), chilli flakes (opens in a new tab), salt and Sichuan pepper. Thread the lamb tightly onto skewers (opens in a new tab), alternating lean and fatty pieces.
- 15 min
- Skewers (opens in a new tab)
Soak wooden skewers in water for 30 minutes first.
How it looks · Photo: Malte Luk on Pexels
3
Step 3
Grill over very hot coals or a hot grill, turning often and sprinkling generously with the spice mix and sesame seeds (opens in a new tab), until charred at the edges and just cooked.
- 8 min
- high heat
- Grill / barbecue (opens in a new tab)
Food safety: Cook lamb to at least 63 °C and rest briefly.

About this dish

Origin: Xinjiang, China · Well documentedA Uyghur street food tradition.More food from China
Dish: Dinner · Snack · Grills & kebabs · Street food
Cooking method: Grilled, Barbecued
Taste: smoky, spicy (chilli heat), aromatic / warmly spiced
Diet: No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Keto-style · Low-carb · High-protein
All labels
Non-vegetarian · No gluten ingredients · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Keto-style · Low-carb · High-protein · Calorie-conscious
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for: Street food
Cook more with: Lamb shoulder · Cumin · Onion · Red chilli flakes
Techniques: Grilling · Charcoal grilling · Marinating

Allergens

Contains, can be adapted: Sesamefrom sesame seeds

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

460 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 174 g · recipe makes 4

Where the energy comes from

Protein 22%
Carbohydrate 3%
Fat 75%

Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
Nutrient	Per serving	Per 100 g*
Energy	460 kcal	264 kcal
Protein	25.1 g	14.4 g
Carbohydrate	3.8 g	2.2 g
Net carbohydrate	2.9 g	1.7 g
Sugars	0.8 g	0.5 g
Added sugars	0 g	0 g
Fibre	0.9 g	0.5 g
Fat	38.7 g	22.2 g
Saturated fat	15.1 g	8.7 g
Trans fat	1.8 g	1 g
Cholesterol	90 mg	52 mg
Sodium	976 mg	561 mg
Salt equivalent	2.4 g	1.4 g

Vitamins & minerals per serving

Potassium: 497 mg
Calcium: 50 mg
Iron: 3.8 mg
Magnesium: 41 mg
Vitamin A (RAE): 52 µg
Vitamin C: 2 mg
Vitamin D: 0.3 µg
Vitamin B12: 2.8 µg
Folate (DFE): —

How these numbers were made

Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
*Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
Optional ingredients are not included: sichuan peppercorns, sesame seeds.
Red chilli flakes: Ground cayenne (FDC 170932) used as a stand-in for dried chilli flakes such as pul biber or Aleppo pepper.
“—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

Lamb fat dripping onto the coals gives the signature smoky flavour — don't trim it all.

Common mistakes

Trimming off all the fat — the fatty pieces baste the lean ones and carry the cumin flavour.
Cooking over a cool grill, which stews the lamb instead of charring it.

Serve with

Serve with flatbread (nan), sliced onion and cold beer or tea.

Storage

Best eaten hot off the grill. Leftovers keep 2 days in the fridge; reheat briefly in a hot pan.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added 27 Oct 2026 · Updated 8 Nov 2026

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Compare with

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Lamb shoulder, cut into 2 cm cubes, keeping some fat600 g

Used in step 1

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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