Lamb doesn’t feature much in Cantonese cuisine, because people think the flavour is too strong. It is eaten in other parts of China, though, where often it is cooked with distinctive flavours to balance the taste.

Young lamb has a much milder taste than older lamb, so choose smaller chops for this recipe.

Lamb chops with black beans, cumin, chillies, Sichuan peppercorns and vegetables

You don’t absolutely need to “French” the chops – trim the meat from the top part of the bone – but it looks nicer, and it is tidier to eat with your fingers. If you start with a rack of lamb – which is just lamb chops that haven’t been separated – the bones are often Frenched already. But you will need to slice the rack between the bones to separate it into individual chops.

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• 6-8 small lamb chops, about 600 grams (21 oz) in total

• 20ml (4 tsp) light soy sauce

• 20ml (4 tsp) rice wine

• ¼ tsp fine sea salt

• ¼ tsp granulated sugar

• 2 medium garlic cloves, peeled

• 4-6 thin slices peeled ginger

• 1 tsp whole Sichuan peppercorns

• ¾ tsp ground cumin

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For the topping:

• 15 grams (½ oz) fermented black beans

• 3-4 garlic cloves, peeled

• 4-6 thin slices peeled ginger

• 2 red banana chillies, or another long, slender, mildly hot chilli

• 2 green banana chillies, or another long, slender, mildly hot chilli

• 1 medium-size carrot, about 100 grams (3½ oz)

• 2-3 Asian cucumbers

• 3-4 spring onions

• 8 dried chillies, preferably Tianjin chillies

• 1½ tsp whole cumin seeds

• Fine sea salt, as necessary

• About 15ml (1 tbsp) cooking oil, or more if necessary

• Chilli oil (optional)

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1 If Frenching the chops, use a paring knife to scrape the meat from the top 2.5cm-5cm (1 in-2 in) of the bone.

2 Put the chops in a bowl and add the soy sauce, rice wine, salt and sugar. Mix well.

3 Cut the garlic cloves and ginger into thin shreds, then put them in the bowl with the lamb.

4 Pick out and discard any seeds and stems from the Sichuan peppercorns, leaving behind the husks. Put the husks in an unoiled skillet or a sesame seed toaster (a mesh pan with lid on a hinge, which prevents the ingredients from popping out) and toast over a low flame until fragrant, shaking the pan/toaster constantly. Cool to room temperature, then use a mortar and pestle to roughly grind them.

5 Sprinkle the Sichuan peppercorns and the ground cumin over the chops and mix well. Set aside to marinate for at least 30 minutes or up to three hours, mixing occasionally.

6 Prepare the ingredients for the topping. Briefly rinse the black beans under running water, then drain them, put them in a small bowl and add 30ml (2 tbsp) of warm water. Set aside to soak.

7 Thinly slice the garlic cloves. Finely julienne the ginger. Thinly slice the red and green banana chillies on the diagonal, shaking out and discarding the seeds as you go.

8 Use a handheld shredder (it looks like a vegetable peeler, but with teeth) to shred the carrot, working around the core (no need to shred the core). You should have about 80 grams.

9 Use the shredder to shred the cucumbers, working around the core of seeds. Weigh out about 100 grams (3½ oz). Cut the spring onions into 5cm (2 in) long pieces.

10 Heat a grill pan over a medium-high flame, then brush it with oil. Scrape off and discard the solid bits from the lamb chops. Cook the lamb chops on both sides, until done to your liking.

11 While the lamb is cooking, prepare the topping. Place a wok over a medium-high flame and add 15ml (1 tbsp) of cooking oil. When the oil is hot, add the whole, dried chillies, stir once, then almost immediately remove them from the wok, leaving behind as much oil as possible. Don’t let the chillies darken too much, or they will taste bitter.

12 Add the cumin seeds, garlic and ginger and stir constantly until the cumin seeds start to pop. Immediately add the banana chillies and stir constantly for about 10 seconds.

13 Add the carrot, cucumber, dried chillies and black beans (plus the soaking liquid), then sprinkle with salt to taste. Stir almost constantly until the ingredients are hot, but the vegetables are still crisp-tender. Add the spring onions and stir-fry for about 10 seconds, then turn off the flame.

14 Taste for seasoning and add more salt, if necessary. If you like it spicier, mix in some chilli oil.

15 Place the lamb chops on a serving platter and top with the vegetables and other ingredients.