Game Cookery

Marrying game with the explosive flavours of Indonesian cuisine is a real master stroke, as Rose Prince proves with this spicy venison stew

Back in the 1980s, when London had only a few good and authentic ethnic restaurants, we’d make a journey to south London to an Indonesian restaurant in Battersea that was run by the characterful Nancy Lam.

The flavours of her food can only be described as explosive. As was the chef. If anyone was too demanding, she used to roundly berate them — mostly the men at the table. We did not mind. Her food was so fascinating, so different, we would have put up with anything to eat there.

Dishes such as pork or chicken satay were new to us, as was nasi goreng, the best of south-east Asian fried-rice dishes, to my mind. I make a version with grated

Ingredients

carrot that has a comforting sweetness — such a good supper on cold evenings.

Then there is sambal, not so much a dish but a condiment eaten with fried fish, grilled prawns or roasted chicken. It has a complex flavour, based on red chillies, spices and herbs, and sits somewhere between a chutney and a seasoned oil. The classic version contains shallots, fresh turmeric, garlic and fish sauce.

There are dozens of recipes to try, but if you want to make the best, invest in a pestle and mortar and pound the ingredients by hand. It is a rather laborious task, but the result is very special.

Game is perfectly adaptable for Indonesian dishes. Substituting chicken with pheasant or rabbit for satay works beautifully. A spatchcock partridge marinated in fragrant spices to eat fried

“If you want to make the best, pound the ingredients by hand. The result is special”

— with sambal, of course, and nasi goreng on the side — is a great feast to share.

But, as a welcome to the hot and happy world of Indonesian food, here is a recipe for rendang, a rich, powerfully spiced, coconut-based stew, suited to venison.