Thai Style Wild Venison Larb
Possibly the best Larb ever, this fantastic recipe comes to us from Ned Trumble & Keat Lee of Lagoon Dining in Melbourne.
Ingredients (serves two)
180g Discovered Ground Venison or minced Venison Tenderloin
30g Bacon Fat or Butter
2 Shallots
2 Garlic Cloves
8-10 Cherry Tomatoes
Dash of chilli powder
Dash of Galangal powder or tsp fresh chopped Galangal
20ml Fish Sauce
1/3 cup Coriander
1/3 cup Mint
1/3 cup Thai Basil
1/3 cup Vietnamese Mint
1 Lemongrass stalk
1 Kaffir Lime Leaf
2 Spring Onion stalks
1 Deep fried dried red chilli
Pinch of white sugar
Crispy deep-fried shallots (to garnish)
Cabbage wedges (to serve)
- Using a mortar and pestle, pound the garlic and shallot together with a pinch of salt. Remove and set aside.
- Using the same mortar and pestle (no need to wash it), pound the cherry tomatoes, being careful they don’t shoot seeds across the room, until they are a coarse, sloppy mix. Remove and set aside.
- Now, to assemble the salad. Slice the shallots thinly lengthways. Julienne the kaffir lime leaf to the best of your ability. Thinly slice lemongrass. Place in a mixing bowl and add all your herbs. Push all ingredients to the side of the mixing bowl.
- Heat a fry pan over medium heat, add pork lard, then add shallot and garlic mix. Stir until it begins to brown. Add the Discovered venison mince, fry lightly.
- Once the meat is broken apart, add the tomatoes. Turn the heat on high and fry for a moment, adding chilli powder and galangal powder. Fry fry. But not too much.
- Add fish sauce and sugar. Once incorporated, have a taste. At this point, feel free to deviate from the recipe. If you feel it needs more fish sauce or chilli powder, proceed according to your own palate.
- Once you are happy with the seasoning, remove from heat and pour entire contents of frying pan into the other side of the mixing bowl containing fresh herbs and aromats.
- Use a large spoon to mix the mince with the salad component. Arrange nicely in your serving bowl and garnish with crispy shallots and deep fried chilli.
- Accompany with large wedges of raw cabbage to use as your eating vessel. Keep tall glasses of chilled milk at the ready.