Vietnamese Poached Pheasant with Ginger-Garlic Rice

Written by Jenny and Rick Wheatley

Vietnamese chicken and rice is comfort food. It is traditionally prepared with a whole broiler chicken thats gently poached until just cooked through and tender. The poaching liquid is then used to cook the rice, which is then fried with rendered chicken fat, lots of ginger and garlic. This dish will make your house smell amazing.

However, there are two obstacles to making this dish with pheasant: Pheasant is nowhere near as fatty as chicken. Gat provides flavor and richness to the rice and without it, the dish would not be the same. I also wanted to create a dish where the whole pheasant could be used– the pheasants legs and thighs would also need to be tender enough to enjoy alongside the breasts.

My solutions were to age the bird for a week and to use rendered duck fat to compensate for the shortage. My efforts were rewarded with a dish that could hold its own.

On aging pheasant: This recipe is best reserved for a pheasant that was not gut shot and preferably a youngish one. To age pheasant, simply hang it whole – feathers and guts intact – in a cold garage or refrigerator thats between 33° and 40° Fahrenheit. I usually hang pheasant at around 35° for about a week. After that, pluck and gut as usual. You may feel tentative about gutting an aged pheasant, but dont be. The smell shouldnt be much worse than a fresh one. If you’d rather not bother, you can make this dish with just pheasant breasts.

Ingredients

Vietnamese Poached Pheasant with Ginger-Garlic Rice

1 whole Pheasant, skin on preferably but not required

1 onion, halved

3 inches of fresh ginger, cut in half lengthwise

10 cup(s) water

1/4 tsp whole peppercorns

Sliced English cucumber

Rice

2 cup(s) uncooked jasmine rice

2 to 3 tbsp rendered duck fat

1 tbsp minced ginger

3 clove(s) garlic, minced

Kosher salt, to taste

Ground white pepper, to taste

Sauce

Juice of 1 lime

2 tbsp Sugar

2 tbsp fish sauce

2 clove(s) garlic, minced

1 or 2 birds eye chilies, minced

2 tbsp minced ginger

Instructions

Vietnamese Poached Pheasant with Ginger-Garlic Rice

Step #1 Remove skin from pheasant, if any, and set aside. Place the skinned bird in a pot with onion, ginger, peppercorns and enough water to submerge the pheasant. Turn on heat and simmer gently for about 15 minutes, or until the thickest part of the breast reads 145°F. Immediately remove the pheasant, sprinkle salt on the meat and set aside to cool.

Step #2 Cook the rice according to package direction using some of the poaching liquid.

Step #3 Meanwhile, combine sauce ingredients. Adjust to taste– there should be balance between sour, sweet and salty.

Step #4 If you have pheasant skin, add a tiny bit of duck fat to a cold pan and lay down the skin. Turn on the heat to medium, and render the skin until it becomes golden and crispy, flipping occasionally. Set aside.

Step #5 Heat the remaining duck fat in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of minced ginger and 3 cloves of minced garlic, and sauté for 30-60 seconds or until fragrant; do not brown. Add the cooked rice and saute for a few minutes until heated through. I like my rice a little bit on the greasier side, so add or subtract duck fat to taste. Season with white pepper and a pinch of salt.

Step #6 Pack the rice into a small bowl and then flip over onto a plate. Enjoy the pheasant cold or gently reheat by dipping the meat into the remaining hot poaching liquid.

Remove breasts from the pheasant and cut against the grain. Keep the leg and thigh intact or separate them. Chop the crispy pheasant skin, if any, and sprinkle them over the rice. Serve with sliced cucumber and the sauce on the side.

To eat, sauce should be drizzled over the rice. Dip the pheasant pieces into the sauce to eat.

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Vietnamese Poached Pheasant with Ginger-Garlic Rice

Written by Jenny and Rick Wheatley Visit : Visit authors website

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Ingredients

Vietnamese Poached Pheasant with Ginger-Garlic Rice

1 whole Pheasant, skin on preferably but not required

1 onion, halved

3 inches of fresh ginger, cut in half lengthwise

10 cup(s) water

1/4 tsp whole peppercorns

Sliced English cucumber

Rice

2 cup(s) uncooked jasmine rice

2 to 3 tbsp rendered duck fat

1 tbsp minced ginger

3 clove(s) garlic, minced

Kosher salt, to taste

Ground white pepper, to taste

Sauce

Juice of 1 lime

2 tbsp Sugar

2 tbsp fish sauce

2 clove(s) garlic, minced

1 or 2 birds eye chilies, minced

2 tbsp minced ginger

Instructions

Vietnamese Poached Pheasant with Ginger-Garlic Rice

Step #1 - Remove skin from pheasant, if any, and set aside. Place the skinned bird in a pot with onion, ginger, peppercorns and enough water to submerge the pheasant. Turn on heat and simmer gently for about 15 minutes, or until the thickest part of the breast reads 145°F. Immediately remove the pheasant, sprinkle salt on the meat and set aside to cool.

Step #2 - Cook the rice according to package direction using some of the poaching liquid.

Step #3 - Meanwhile, combine sauce ingredients. Adjust to taste– there should be balance between sour, sweet and salty.

Step #4 - If you have pheasant skin, add a tiny bit of duck fat to a cold pan and lay down the skin. Turn on the heat to medium, and render the skin until it becomes golden and crispy, flipping occasionally. Set aside.

Step #5 - Heat the remaining duck fat in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon of minced ginger and 3 cloves of minced garlic, and sauté for 30-60 seconds or until fragrant; do not brown. Add the cooked rice and saute for a few minutes until heated through. I like my rice a little bit on the greasier side, so add or subtract duck fat to taste. Season with white pepper and a pinch of salt.

Step #6 - Pack the rice into a small bowl and then flip over onto a plate. Enjoy the pheasant cold or gently reheat by dipping the meat into the remaining hot poaching liquid. Remove breasts from the pheasant and cut against the grain. Keep the leg and thigh intact or separate them. Chop the crispy pheasant skin, if any, and sprinkle them over the rice. Serve with sliced cucumber and the sauce on the side. To eat, sauce should be drizzled over the rice. Dip the pheasant pieces into the sauce to eat.

About the Author

Jenny and Rick Wheatley

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Jenny and Rick Wheatley both grew up in Southern California and connected over a shared love of the outdoors. They started their wild game cooking blog Food for Hunters in 2011, where they share recipes, photos and thoughts on wild food. Today, Jenny and Rick continue to hunt, fish, forage and cook in the Cornhusker State of Nebraska. Their recipes have appeared in numerous publications, including Petersens Hunting, Game and Fish, Nebraskaland and North American Whitetail magazines.

The Nebraska Center for the Book awarded their book Hunting for Food: Guide to Harvesting, Field Dressing and Cooking Wild Game the Wildlife Honor Award in 2016.