Pheasant Katsu Curry

Pheasant Cup winner Mo Metcalf-Fisher shares his Pheasant Katsu Curry recipe...

I'm a big fan of the Katsu Curry, usually having it with chicken or pumpkin. However, pheasant is arguably better than both. As a recipe, it's surprisingly simple, but a bit messy in the kitchen if you aren't well organised. Total time around 35 mins with prep.

This recipe is based on serving for two

Ingredients

2 carrots, 1 large onion or 2 small onions (white), 5 cloves of garlic, 1 apple, 2 large tablespoons of plain flour, 2 teaspoons of garam masala, 4 teaspoons of mild curry powder, 5 tablespoons of coconut milk, 2 tablespoons of honey, 4 teaspoons of soy sauce, 600 ml of chicken or pheasant stock, 2 pheasant breasts, 1 egg (beaten for coating), flower for coating and panko breadcrumbs for the final coat. Easy cook rice, preferably jasmine.

Method

Roughly chop the garlic, onions, apple and carrots. Add oil to a pan and heat. Lightly sweat the onions, add the garlic. Sweat for 2-3 minutes. Add a sprinkling of salt. Add the carrots and cook for 4 minutes or so until they soften. Add the apple and leave for another minute or so. Then add 2 large tablespoons of plain flour and stir. Add garam masala and curry powder and stir. Once combined, add the coconut milk, honey and soy sauce and stir. Now it's time to add the stock, gradually pouring as you continue to stir. You may wish to add a dash of chilli sauce to heat things up. Keep the sauce on a very low heat to simmer, stirring occasionally. Now to the pheasant breasts. Coat each: starting with the egg, then flour and ending on the panko breadcrumbs. Coat quite generously but not so much that it falls apart when frying. Heat a separate pan with oil and add a little salt. When hot, fry the pheasant breasts for around 6-7 minutes. Turning throughout halfway. Do not let the coating get too dark. If cooking too quickly, simply turn the heat down. Once the pheasant breasts are cooked, remove from heat to cool. Take the sauce off the hob and sieve it into a new bowl or measuring cup, ensuring it is smooth and has no lumpy bits. Boil or microwave the rice then plate it. Rest the breast on top, typically Katsu is presented sliced. Add the sauce on top of the pheasant. You can add chopped chillies, sesame seeds and coriander on top as a final garnish.

Enjoy.