Venison in black bean sauce with fried rice

Method:

Using a sharp boning or other thin bladed knife, remove the silver skin from the top of the backstrap. Slice into thin 1cm thick steaks, cutting against the grain.

Mix the ingredients for the marinade (excluding the cornflour) in a large mixing bowl. Toss the meat in the marinade, making sure that all of the meat is coated. Sprinkle the cornflour over the marinaded meat and toss again. Set aside.

Heat a large, heavy bottomed frying pan or wok over high heat. Mix the ingredients for the black bean sauce. Add a tablespoon of sesame or peanut oil to the pan. Spread the black bean sauce over the bottom of the pan. In small batches, lay the sliced backstrap over the black bean sauce in the pan. Cook for no more than 30-45sec each side. Remove the venison from the pan and set aside in a bowl.

Once all of the meat has been browned and set aside, add more oil to the pan. Cook the sliced onion until soft then add the capsicum and spring onion. Cook until soft. Add the chicken stock and Chinese rice wine to deglaze the pan (this is just a fancy word to say that you’re getting all of the bits stuck to the bottom of the pan off the bottom of the pan). Add the snow peas and cook for a minute or two. Add the meat back to the pan and toss everything together. Cook until the sauce is bubbling and has thickened slightly (approx. 2-3 mins).

Serve over fried rice (recipe below) or steamed rice.

Fried rice

Ingredients:

4 rashers of bacon diced
4 eggs (mixed with a whisk)
1 large onion
1 clove of garlic minced
2 cups of frozen carrots, peas and corn
4 cups of cooked, chilled rice
2 tbsp sesame oil
2 tsp hoi sin sauce
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce

Sesame or peanut oil to cook

Method:

Heat a large wok or heavy bottomed frying pan over medium high heat. Add a tablespoon of sesame or peanut oil. Fry diced bacon in the oil until brown. Remove from pan and set aside. Add egg mixture to the pan and toss while it cooks. It should resemble scrambled eggs. Remove from pan and set aside with bacon.

Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan and cook onion and garlic until soft. Add frozen carrots, peas and corn. Toss until warmed through.

Add cooked, chilled rice. Just a quick note – it’s really important to make sure that you chill the cooked rice as this will stop it from overcooking and turning into a sticky mess. You can chill it quickly by spreading it over a baking tray and popping it in the fridge for an hour or so. Toss the rice with the vegetable mix until everything is incorporated.

Add the sauces (sesame oil, hoi sin, soy and oyster sauce). Give everything a good mix and cook until hot.