Jungle curry banana and venison recipe

These curries aren’t seen so much on menus over here in the UK but they are great – and this jungle curry with grilled venison and green banana recipe is as good as they get! Herbal, full of fresh, nutritious vegetables and very spicy, it’s an authentic Thai taste that’ll really tickle those tastebuds.

 

Ingredients

(serves 4)

For the venison:

600g lean venison haunch or loin meat, trimmed of sinew or gristle

2tbsp fish sauce

Pinch of white sugar

 

For the curry paste

½ cup long dried chillies (deseeded, cut into pieces and soaked in water for 15 mins then drained)

10 dry bird’s eye chillies (seeds left in, soaked in water for 15 minutes and drained)

2tbsp grachai root, peeled and chopped (optional)

3tbsp sliced lemongrass,

2tbsp peeled and sliced galangal

3tbsp sliced shallots

3tbsp chopped garlic

2-3 coriander roots (or a large handful of ground coriander stems)

1tbsp gapi (Thai shrimp paste)

½tsp kaffir lime zest (optional)

1tsp black peppercorns

½tsp sea salt

 

For the curry

850ml chicken stock

4tbsp plain oil (sunflower or similar)

4tbsp fish sauce

Tiny pinch of palm sugar or golden caster sugar

1 large green banana or plaintain, pre boiled (see below)

2tbsp picked pea aubergines

2-3 Thai bird’s eye chillies, bruised

2 Thai ‘apple’ aubergines, sliced into bite sized wedges

Small handful of Thai long beans or fine green beans

2tbsp peeled grachai, sliced into thin long strips

Small handful of picked Thai holy basil leaves, or Thai sweet basil leaves

5-6 fresh or frozen kaffir lime leaves

4-5 stalks of fresh green peppercorns (optional)

 

Method

To make the paste use a heavy pestle and mortar and add the sea salt, drained dried chillies and pound until smooth; now add the rest of the ingredients one by one, pounding until smooth before adding the next. Once complete, set aside for later (this stage can be done up to 2 days in advance).

 

Now grill the venison:  rub the meat with the fish sauce and sugar and charcoal grill (or use a griddle pan) until nicely coloured and medium rare (about 4-6 minutes on each side, depending on thickeness of your cut). Allow to rest for 5 minutes then slice into bite sized pieces and set aside.

 

For the green banana, peel and slice into bite sized pieces and place in a pot of salted cold water. Once the once beings to simmer, turn off the heat and set aside for 5 minutes.  The bananas should be cooked but still with a slight bite.  Drain and set aside.

 

To make the curry: add the oil to a pan, place on a medium heat and gently fry the curry paste for 5 minutes, stirring to avoid sticking.

 

Add the chicken stock, fish sauce and pinch of sugar then the pea aubergines and kaffir lime leaves, simmer for 3 minutes before adding the apple aubergines, boiled green banana, bruised bird’s eye chillies and fresh green peppercorns (if using).

 

Simmer for 3-4 more minutes before adding the sliced venison, grachai and basil.  Turn off the heat, taste to check the seasoning (add a touch more fish sauce if needed) and serve.

 

Serve with jasmine rice as part of a shared Thai meal.

 

Jungle curry with grilled venison, Singha. This recipe has been created with Co-founder and Head Chef, Andy Oliver of award-winning restaurant Som Saa.