Field to Fork – Venison Kimchi Fried Rice

March 30, 2012

I was digging around Pinterest one night and saw this. It looked positively DELISH and after a visit to TastingTable.com’s Hot Diggity post, it got me thinking about a venison dish. Last year I shared a recipe for a burgundy style deer heart inspired by french cuisine. It has been a while since I have posted a recipe, but because of the pin I was excited to continue my mulie meat world tour and take a culinary voyage to Korea for some kimchi fried rice.

Kimchi fried rice or kimchi bokkeumbap is a popular dish in South Korea. It combines all the yummy goodness of fried rice with spicy fermented cabbage (kimchi). I love kimchi and those who have dined with me in korean restaurants know I can put away a serious amount of the stuff. I think I could even make a meal of it. I love it so much that earlier in the year I bought some NOH Kim Chee packets with every intention of making my own kimchi. But, I digress. Back to the venison version!

The next morning I was thinking about how I was going to cook up this dish when I suddenly remembered those little packets. I dug one out and thought hmm… marinade! I grabbed a mixing bowl, added two cups of water to the spices, and then whisked it all together. I cut away any grizzle from a couple of mule deer steaks I had thawing in the fridge and dropped them in the marinade. After covering them with plastic wrap, in the refrigerator they went for the day.

About an hour before dinner I dumped two cups of white rice and the appropriate amount of water into my rice cooker. One press of the cook button and my perfect little rice maker sang me a little tune to tell me it had started. 30 minutes later I pulled the steaks out of the fridge. I removed them from the marinade and let them sit on a plate for about 10 minutes to take the chill off of them.

Prep time! I grabbed two shallow pasta bowls and distributed a handful of baby spinach leaves into each as a fresh, springy green bed for the rice. I cut and sliced up an avocado, placing the slices along the edge of each bowl. After that, I took a knife to three cloves of garlic and chopped them into smallish pieces.

I turned on my Cuisinart Griddler to the highest setting at “sear.” I wanted to make sure it was good and hot for the steaks when I was ready to cook them. (If you don’t have one, a grill pan will work just as well.)

Next up I grabbed my wok. I set it on the burner cranking the stove up to high heat. I added about three tablespoons of sesame oil letting it get rippling hot. A quick swirl of the wok to distribute oil to the bottom and sides, I tossed in the garlic. I let it cook for about 15 seconds before adding most of my cooked rice to the wok. I worked the rice with a wooden spoon to completely coat it with the oil. I spread the rice around the pan to allow it to brown a bit. Then I grabbed the jar of kimchi and dumped about a cup of it into the wok. I stirred and used a spatula to chop large pieces of cabbage into smaller bites. The rice took on a red tinge as the mixture sizzled.

With the rice finished, I placed a large spoonful on top of the bed of spinach leaves in each bowl. Then I covered the bowls with plates to keep them warm while I cooked the steak and eggs. I added a non-stick skillet to the stove top at medium low heat with two tablespoons of olive oil. Next, I placed the steaks on the griddler and then closed it so the upper portion seared the top of the steaks at the same time. I set my kitchen timer for two minutes.

I cracked two eggs into the skillet watching them cook until the white part of each egg set. BEEP BEEP! In no time the steaks were done. I quickly flipped the eggs with a spatula and took them off the heat. I placed a portion of steak on top of each bowl of rice and then slid a cooked egg on top.

I knew I would be happy with the meal considering I love all the ingredients, but would it pass the test? The finished dish received four M’s on my hubby’s gourmet gauge! Mmmm translates to, “Shh, I need a moment to savor this!”