Venison Recipes

Val’s Venison Pad Krapow

By

Venison mince takes the place of pork in this version of pad krapow, with garlic, chillies, fish sauce and plenty of holy basil. It’s quick, hot and a very good use for a packet of mince.

The recipe comes courtesy of my friend Kay Plunkett-Hogge, a teacher of Thai cookery. Get everything ready before heating the wok, then cook quickly and serve with rice and a fried egg. Don’t be shy with the holy basil.

Serves: 2

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes, cook the rice separately and have it ready to serve; fry the eggs alongside the stir-fry.

Ingredients

Method

  1. Using a pestle and mortar, pound the bird’s eye chillies, garlic, and a pinch of sea salt together to form a coarse paste.
  2. Heat a wok until it’s smoking hot, then add the vegetable oil.
  3. Add the chilli and garlic paste to the wok and stir-fry for a few seconds until aromatic, being careful not to burn it.
  4. Add the venison mince and stir-fry until it’s almost cooked through.
  5. Stir in the fish sauce (nam pla) and sugar, mixing thoroughly to combine the flavours with the venison.
  6. Add most of the holy basil leaves and stir-fry until they wilt into the mince mixture.
  7. Serve over steamed jasmine rice, topped with a fried egg, and scatter the remaining holy basil leaves over the top for garnish.

Note: If you can’t find holy basil (krapow), you can substitute Thai sweet basil. As a last resort, European basil can be used, but it will alter the dish’s authentic flavour. If using European basil, you might not want to call it Pad Krapow!

Order meat online

Valentine Warner is a chef, food writer, broadcaster and business owner with a deep-rooted interest in nature, travel and provincial food. He describes his cooking style as “International Grandmother,” blending a strong sense of storytelling with an infectious love of cookery.

Val has a deep respect for ingredients, both wild and cultivated, and an instinctive ability to turn whatever’s available into something hearty, wholesome and satisfying. A firm advocate of native food sources, he shares common ground with Swaledale in championing meat that is flavourful, ethical and high welfare.

Originally trained as a portrait painter, Val has authored five cookbooks, run his own catering company, and is co-owner of Taqueria, a well-loved Mexican café in West London. He is also a partner in Hepple Distillery in Northumberland and Holmen Lofoten, a hotel on Arctic Norway’s Lofoten islands.