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Vietnamese-Style ‘Shaking’ Elk

  • Duration

    25 minutes

  • Serves

    4 as an entrée along with rice, or 2 without
Chef’s notes

This recipe comes from MeatEater Cooks—our new culinary series available on YouTube. In this episode, Steve and I cook up some of his New Mexico bull elk with a method that probably hasn't been used on many elk.

This dish gets it’s odd name from the sound the ingredients make as they cook and bounce around in the wok. The key to this perparation is to maintain really high cooking heat, while to resisting the urge to overcook the meat. Ideally it should be served rare to medium-rare. The traditional accompaniments are simply steamed rice and fresh raw veggies, making this a super quick and healthy dish.

Ingredients

  • 1lb. elk tenderloin or backstrap, cut into 2-inch cubes
  • 3 ½ tbsp. sugar
  • ¼ cup safflower oil
  • 3 tbsp. low sodium soy sauce
  • 3 tbsp. Vietnamese fish sauce
  • 2 tbsp. rice vinegar
  • 1 tsp. mirin
  • 6 scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 red onion, julienned
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 2-inch portion of ginger, minced
  • Kosher salt
  • Black pepper

Serving Suggestion

  • Mixed salad greens
  • Fresh cherry tomatoes
  • Fresh cucumbers

Also works with

Any tender cut

Special equipment

Wok

Preparation

  1. In a zip-top bag, mix 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1 tablespoon of oil, a large pinch of salt, and a generous amount of black pepper. Add the cubed meat and allow to sit at room temperature and marinate for 20 minutes or up to 1 hour.
  2. In a small bowl, mix together the remaining sugar, soy sauce, fish sauce, vinegar, mirin, ginger, and garlic. Set aside until ready to cook.
  3. Heat the oil in a carbon-steel or cast-iron wok until it’s smoking hot. Add the meat all at once and allow it to sear on one side. Add the onions on top of the meat and begin shaking the wok to release the meat. Stir fry this mixture for 2 minutes.
  4. Pour the sauce mixture over the meat and allow it to come to a boil and coat the meat and onions. Cook for 2 additional minutes taking care not to overcook the meat. Adjust the seasoning if needed with additional salt.
  5. Spoon the meat and sauce directly from the pan on top of a plate of mixed greens and/or rice. Garnish with cherry tomatoes and cucumbers before serving.

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Save this recipe

Vietnamese-Style ‘Shaking’ Elk

Recipe by: Kevin Gillespie

This video requires Targeting/Advertising cookies. Please enable Targeting/Advertising cookies in Cookie Settings to view this content.

  • Duration

    25 minutes

  • Serves

    4 as an entrée along with rice, or 2 without
Chef’s notes

This recipe comes from MeatEater Cooks—our new culinary series available on YouTube. In this episode, Steve and I cook up some of his New Mexico bull elk with a method that probably hasn't been used on many elk.

This dish gets it’s odd name from the sound the ingredients make as they cook and bounce around in the wok. The key to this perparation is to maintain really high cooking heat, while to resisting the urge to overcook the meat. Ideally it should be served rare to medium-rare. The traditional accompaniments are simply steamed rice and fresh raw veggies, making this a super quick and healthy dish.

Ingredients

  • 1lb. elk tenderloin or backstrap, cut into 2-inch cubes
  • 3 ½ tbsp. sugar
  • ¼ cup safflower oil
  • 3 tbsp. low sodium soy sauce
  • 3 tbsp. Vietnamese fish sauce
  • 2 tbsp. rice vinegar
  • 1 tsp. mirin
  • 6 scallions, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 red onion, julienned
  • 3 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 2-inch portion of ginger, minced
  • Kosher salt
  • Black pepper

Serving Suggestion

  • Mixed salad greens
  • Fresh cherry tomatoes
  • Fresh cucumbers

Also works with

Any tender cut

Special equipment

Wok

Preparation

  1. In a zip-top bag, mix 1 tablespoon of sugar, 1 tablespoon of oil, a large pinch of salt, and a generous amount of black pepper. Add the cubed meat and allow to sit at room temperature and marinate for 20 minutes or up to 1 hour.
  2. In a small bowl, mix together the remaining sugar, soy sauce, fish sauce, vinegar, mirin, ginger, and garlic. Set aside until ready to cook.
  3. Heat the oil in a carbon-steel or cast-iron wok until it’s smoking hot. Add the meat all at once and allow it to sear on one side. Add the onions on top of the meat and begin shaking the wok to release the meat. Stir fry this mixture for 2 minutes.
  4. Pour the sauce mixture over the meat and allow it to come to a boil and coat the meat and onions. Cook for 2 additional minutes taking care not to overcook the meat. Adjust the seasoning if needed with additional salt.
  5. Spoon the meat and sauce directly from the pan on top of a plate of mixed greens and/or rice. Garnish with cherry tomatoes and cucumbers before serving.