Ground Venison with Shiso Gochujang Sauce
working in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley provide her with many opportunities to expand her
culinary horizons and continue to learn and grow through hunting, fishing, foraging, and farming.
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Shiso was one of the only plants in my “wild garden” to survive the drought this summer. I usually smell it before I see it; this member of the mint family (Perilla frutescens) exudes an almost licorice-basil aroma and is easily identified by its toothy-edged, opposite leaves that are green on top and pale silvery-purple beneath. It’s also known as perilla or beefsteak plant, and there are red/purple varieties. In North America, it’s an invasive species and can be toxic to livestock and crops — all the more reason for us to eat it!
Shiso originated in China, and it’s popular in Asian cuisines. It makes an attractive edible garnish for sushi or an ingredient in sushi rolls, and can be fried in tempura. Red shiso is used as a natural dye, while green is used for cooking. This recipe was inspired by a Korean dish called kkaennip-jangajji, pickled or fermented perilla leaves. Here, the leaves are marinated in a savory, spicy, sweet sauce featuring the fermented red pepper paste, gochujang.
In the past, I’ve used shiso to make cocktails, and it pairs beautifully with tomatoes and grass-fed beef. As early doe season approaches, I found the need to make room in my freezer and try something different than deer burgers with my ground venison. The unique flavors made this dish we’ll definitely repeat — and it was just the thing to shake summer daze and get our culinary creativity flowing again. Stunning fairytale eggplants and Padron peppers from the farmer’s market were the perfect finishing touch.
Serving Size: Servings 4-6
Time to make: 30 minutes (plus sufficient time to marinate; 8-24 hours)
Special Equipment: None
Also works with: Any lean ground meat
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Ground Venison with Shiso Gochujang Sauce
4
servings10
minutes30
minutesKeep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
- FOR THE MARINATED SHISO LEAVES
30 medium to large fresh shiso leaves, washed and dried
½ cup soy sauce
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp gochujang sauce or paste
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 whole scallion (green onion), finely chopped
1 green chili, minced
- FOR THE GROUND VENISON
1 lb ground venison
1 tbsp high temp cooking oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup soy sauce
¼ cup light brown sugar, packed
1 tbsp ground ginger
¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
4 scallions (green tops), chopped (for garnish)
Sesame seeds (for garnish)
Toasted sesame oil, to finish
- Sides
Serve over white rice with stir fried or grilled summer vegetabes.
Preparation
- FOR THE SHISO LEAVES
- Combine the soy sauce, honey, garlic, gochujang, scallion, and chili in a small, flat-bottomed bowl to make the marinade. Stir to combine.
- Use a spoon to spread a thin layer of the marinade across the bottom of another bowl, large enough for the shiso leaves.
- Place a shiso leaf into the marinade and apply a thin layer of the marinade over top of it.
- Place another shiso leaf onto the first, and repeat step 3 until all your leaves are stacked and evenly glazed with marinade. You can angle the bowl to collect and redistribute excess marinade.
- Let the leaves marinate for up to 24 hours in the fridge, or at least overnight.
- FOR THE GROUND VENISON
- In a pan or skillet, brown the venison in the oil over medium heat.
- Add the minced garlic and cook for another minute.
- Add soy sauce, brown sugar, ginger, and crushed red pepper flakes to the pan with the meat, stirring to combine.
- Continue cooking until the meat is no longer pink.
- Transfer the meat to a bowl and top with the sesame seeds, scallions, and a good drizzle of toasted sesame oil.
- PUTTING IT TOGETHER
- Serve the meat over white rice, carefully draping the marinated shiso leaves over the mixture with chopsticks. Then, use your chopsticks to pick up a “parcel” of meat and rice wrapped in the shiso leaf. Alternatively, chop up the shiso leaves and mix them into the meat and rice. The leftover marinade is delicious poured over both!
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