Ground Venison Over Udon

 

Another day, another experiment.

I generally like spaghetti with meat sauce, but instead of going out for Italian (which I do very often), I decided to do something just slightly different. The inspiration came from Spaghetti Bolognese and Chinese Minced Beef Over Rice.

• 1 serving size udon (any Asian noodles will work, too) cooked per instructions, rinse in cold water, drained
• 2 tsp vegetable oil
• 1/4 white onion, diced
• 1/4” fresh ginger, finely chopped and mashed
• 1/4 cup white cooking wine
• 1 lb ground venison (or bison or very lean beef)
• 1 oz sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1/4 cup frozen green peas
• 1 beef bouillon cube or 1 tsp beef bouillon granules
• 1 tblsp dark soy sauce
• cornstarch slurry (1 tblsp cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water)
• 1 egg
• 1 scallion stalk, thinly sliced

1. Prepare the udon and set aside.
2. Heat vegetable oil in a large pan. Sauté the diced onion over medium heat until slightly caramelized, then add ginger, stirring constantly to avoid sticking. Add a tblsp cooking wine to deglaze if necessary.
3. Turn the heat to medium high and add the venison, breaking up the meat.
4. Add the mushrooms, green peas, beef bouillon, dark soy sauce, and the rest of the cooking wine.
5. Turn the heat to low and simmer until the meat is thoroughly cooked and most of the liquid has evaporated.
6. Turn the heat to medium high and stir in the cornstarch slurry.
7. Pour boiling water over the udon in a strainer to heat through.
8. Plate the udon, then ladle the meat sauce on top, leaving a slight well in the middle. Break the raw egg into the well. Garnish with sliced scallion.
9. Mix the egg with the sauce and noodles before eating.