Instructions: Slice the lamb across the grain into thin slices. Place in a dish and mix well with the hoisin sauce and sesame oil. Dust with the cornstarch to coat the meat pieces evenly.

Heat the groundnut oil in a preheated wok until moderately hot. Stir-fry the lamb for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly with chopsticks to separate the slices. Remove and drain well.

Pour off the oil, leaving 1 tablespoon behind, and stir in the seasonings ingredients. Bring to a boil. Return the lamb to the wok and stir quickly over maximum heat until the seasoning ingredients coat the lamb slices. Serve immediately.

This recipe yields 4 servings.

Comments: Little is written about lamb in Chinese cooking as it plays a relatively small role in Chinas gastronomy. Most Chinese find the odor of mutton disagreeable. But because the texture of the meat is excellent, Chinese cooks take time and care in preparing lamb to minimize its less attractive features and maximize the best.

This recipe was reputedly created exclusively for the Dowager Empress Cixi of the Quig dynasty (AD 1644-1911), whose royal taste was for many concoctions made with honey.

Honey is probably the oldest and most respected sweetener in China, dating from as early as Tang (AD 618-906), when the bees of most of northern China provided honey for the palace tables of Changan (now Xian).

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