Szechuan venison stir-fry recipe

Turn a boring stir-fry into something extra special with the addition of venison, a lovely, lean meat.

Ingredients

• 300g (10oz) venison fillet or 2 large venison steaks
• Grated zest and juice of 1 orange
• 2tbsp soy sauce
• 2tbsp sesame oil
• 2tbsp finely grated fresh root ginger
• 1tbsp sunflower oil
• 1tbsp Szechuan/Sichuan peppercorns, toasted and coarsely ground
• 150g (5oz) tenderstem broccoli, stalks halved lengthways, if thick
• 2 heads of pak choi, leaves separated, and stalks chopped
• 2 x 300g packs medium-sized dried noodles (soaked in boiling water for 4 mins)
• 6 spring onions, trimmed and sliced

Method

1. Cut the venison into thin strips. Mix together the orange zest, 2 tbsp of the orange juice, soy sauce, sesame oil and ginger, and pour into a bowl. Add the venison and leave to marinate for 20 mins, (or longer, if you have time). Prepare the vegetables.
2. Heat the sunflower oil in a hot wok or large pan. Add the venison (reserving the marinade) and stir-fry for a minute, until just coloured all over. Add the ground peppercorns and cook for another minute. Take the meat out of the wok with a draining spoon and set aside on a plate.
3. Pour the marinade, the rest of the orange juice and 150ml(¼ pint) hot water (or stock) into the wok. Bring to the boil, add the broccoli and the stalks of pak choi and cook for 1 min. Then stir in the soaked noodles, the pak choi leaves and spring onions. Cook for another minute or until vegetables are just tender, then put the venison back in and heat through.