Lamb's Face Salad

Ingredients

• 2 lamb's heads
• 1 large onion, roughly chopped
• 5 ribs celery, divided
• 1/4 cup roasted chili oil
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon Chinkiang vinegar, or to taste
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon tahini, optional
• 1 tablespoon cumin seed, toasted and ground coarsely
• 1 whole star anise, toasted and ground medium-fine
• One 1-inch piece of cinnamon stick, toasted and ground medium-fine
• Kosher salt
• 1 cup mung bean sprouts
• 1 medium-sized cucumber, cut into julienne
• Chopped cilantro, to garnish

Directions

1. Set an oven rack in the center and heat the oven to 300 degrees F. Put the lambs' heads into a pot or pan that holds them closely. Spoon the onion and 3 roughly chopped celery ribs over them, then pour in water until it reaches halfway up the heads. Bring everything to a boil over high heat, cover with a lid or foil, and move it to the oven. Braise until the meat is very tender and pulls away from the bone, at least 3 hours. Cool the heads in their cooking liquid. If you are pausing here, cover the heads with foil and refrigerate them for up to 4 days. Warm them gently in a 300 F oven until heated through, about 20 minutes.
2. While the lamb cooks or cools, whisk the chili oil, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, tahini, cumin, star anise, and cinnamon together. Add salt to taste. The sauce may be prepared ahead and kept in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
3. Once the heads are cool enough to work with, pull all the meat from the skulls and discard the skulls. Remove and discard the tongue’s outer layer. Cut the tongue into thin slices, then chop or pull the rest of the meat into slender pieces. Set aside.
4. Bring a medium sized pot of water to a boil. Add the bean sprouts and cook until they are tender but still crisp, about 2 minutes. Rinse them with cold water, then drain them well. Cut the remaining 2 celery ribs thinly on the bias.
5. Combine the lamb meat and tongue with the cucumber, bean sprouts, celery, and dressing, then adjust with more soy sauce and salt to taste. Finish with chopped cilantro and serve.