Venison and Noodles Asian Stir Fry
You may not think it but stir fry is one of the most popular dishes people make with venison; it’s right up there with chili and Italian sausage.
The Ingredients
There are no right or wrong ingredients for a venison stir fry as long as you have venison.
I’ve tried all manner of different vegetables, garnishes, and sauces. The one in this post is my favorite simply because it has a slightly more complex flavor than the others.
The meat
Ideally, you need a tender cut of meat for stir fry. I like to use the backstrap mostly. I wouldn’t like to use the tenderloin simply because I prefer that cut for other dishes.
You could use other less tender cuts if you slice them thinly enough.
They may not be as tender as the backstrap, but I have included instructions for velveting in this recipe, which will make the meat tender enough for a stir fry.
The Sauce
A stir fry needs a good sauce to bring it all together. As I said earlier, I like this sauce’s complexity, but some lesser-known ingredients are required.
Most ingredients are your typical household ingredients, such as soy sauce, oyster sauce, and Hoisin sauce.
However, you may struggle to find mirin. This is a staple in Japanese cooking. It is a rice wine with low alcohol content and high sugar content.
You could use sake and an extra tablespoon of sugar in a pinch.
Cooking
Many recipes you will see on stir fry will have you cook the meat from the start and leave it there for the whole process, but this won’t work with venison.
For this recipe, you need to sear the venison at high heat and remove it before adding it back in near the end.
The reason for this is that venison dries out much faster than beef. By searing the meat and allowing it to rest, the meat will be much more tender.
The best pan or wok for doing this is carbon or stainless steel. If you don’t have either of these, you could get by with cast iron.
Nonstick pans won’t work because they cannot reach the high temperature required for searing.
While this is one of my favorite dishes, there are many other Asian venison recipes also worth trying.
Venison and Noodles Asian Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 1 lb venison note 1
- 7 oz ramen noodles
- 5 oz broccoli
- 1 medium red bell pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger grated
- 3 cloves garlic grated
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon mirin
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon sesame seeds optional
- 1 red chili optional, spicy
Instructions
- Velvet the venison and set aside for 30 minutes. To do this add 2 tablespoons of water to 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. Pour over the meat and mix. Add in 1-2 tablespoons of soy sauce to marinate (optional)
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and cook your noodles according to the instructions.
- In a small bowl, add sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, and mirin. Stir to combine
- Rinse venison and pat dry
- Heat your wok over high heat
- Add grapeseed oil to the wok. Add venison and brown the outside
- Remove venison from the wok and set aside
- Return the wok to medium heat and add broccoli. Cook for 2 minutes
- Move broccoli to one side of the wok and add sauce to the other side. Add garlic and ginger to the sauce. Cook until the sauce begins to boil and turns syrupy
- Add noodles to the pan and toss.
- Add bell pepper and return venison to the pan. Cook for 5 minutes. The vegetables should be cooked but crunchy.
- Add your toppings to serve
Video
Notes
- The best meat for venison stir fry is backstrap. If you do not have this you can use other cuts cut thinly along with velveting.
