Fried rice has always been one of my favorite foods. What is suppose to be a dish made from leftovers somehow found a way to rank high on my list.
Now imagine how I felt when I successfully made it with venison, ecstatic would be an understatement.
Ingredients
Fried rice is typically made with leftover rice. However, feel free to cook up a batch of rice especially for making it, I do so regularly.
The rice needs to be a long or medium grain rice. I prefer to use Jasmine, but I often use basmati also. Shorter grain rices will not work because they are too sticky.
In this recipe I have that you should velvet the meat. The velveting tenderizes the meat, allowing you to use most cuts of venison.
I’ve used premium cuts like the backstrap and flat iron, I’ve also used lower quality cuts like sirloin. As long as you slice the meat thin and velvet it you will be fine with most cuts.
I use spring onion in all of my fried rice dishes and you should too. There is no better veg for fried rice. The spring onion ads subtle but noticeable flavor, and an abundance of aromatics.
I also used Shitake mushrooms for this fried rice which is not a common ingredient, but I find it pairs very well with the venison.
Related >> How to velvet venison
Cooking
As I mentioned above you should begin this recipe by velveting venison. However, if you are using a tender cut you can skip this step, but keep in mind velveting is not just a tenderizing technique, it also marinades.
When mixing the eggs in a bowl, use chopsticks and stir in one direction only, this creates long stringy pieces of egg which makes a more pleasant dish.
When pouring the egg into the oil, stir again in one direction to keep working on making the egg stringy.
I should point out that this is a fancy way of making the eggs, typically used in high end restaurants. You could pour all the eggs into a wok with hot oil, let them cook and later break them up throughout the cooking process.
I use both methods frequently, and while the first method does make for a better dish, I don’t always want to put so much effort into making fried rice.
The venison should be cooked the same way as it is for Mongolian venison or other Asian dishes. This is how venison is cooked for the majority of Asian dishes I make.
Get the wok nice and hot, roll the oil around the sides, place the venison in a single layer around the sides and briefly cook. You can see the video below for the technique.
Related >> Mongolian venison recipe
Venison Fried Rice
Venison fried rice makes for a healthy snack or a main course. This dish is packed with flavor and is ready in less than 30 minutes.
Ingredients
- 10 oz venison (most cuts will work)
- 5 cups cooked rice
- 2 whole eggs
- 4 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup peas
- 1/2 cup spring onion (chopped)
- 2 shallots (diced)
- 4 medium shitake mushrooms (soaked and chopped)
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Instructions
- Slice the venison thinly and place it in a large bowl and velvet with 1 tablespoon of soy sauce and marinate for 30 minutes (see note 1)
- Place the two eggs ad four egg yolks in a bowl and lightly mix string in one direction.
- Heat a wok over medium heat. Add in 1 cup of canola oil and bring to about 190F and remove from heat
- Using a ladle to stir the oil slowly in one direction, begin pouring in the egg mixture making sure to keep a steady stream (see note 2)
- When all the egg is in the wok return to heat for 20-30 seconds.
- Pour the contents of the wok through a colander to drain the egg. Press down on the egg to remove all of the oil.
- Return the wok to the heat and increase to high heat. Add a half cup of canola oil.
- Place the venison around the wok in a single layer and cook for 1 minute.
- Remove venison and set aside.
- Pour out the oil from the wok
- Add in the shallots and mushrooms. Cook for 60 seconds
- Add in rice and toss
- Add in egg and use ladle to mix. Cook for 3 minutes frequently tossing.
- Add in sauce mixture and continue tossing.
- Add in peas
- Add in half spring onion and cook for a further 2 minutes
- Add remaining spring onion and serve
Notes
- The velveting step can be skipped if you are using a tender cut, but you will lose out on some flavor by not marinating.
- This is a fancy method of doing the eggs to make nice string egg. You could also add in the egg (unwhisked) and break them up later during the cooking process.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 337Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 222mgSodium: 402mgCarbohydrates: 45gFiber: 2gSugar: 3gProtein: 24g
Rusty enjoys connecting food and nature and has done so since a child. He was fortunate enough to explore cuisine worldwide and work at great European restaurants. He now enjoys thinking up new recipes that he can find around him in nature in North America.