Kangaroo spring rolls (From St Albans & Harpenden Review)

Kangaroo spring rolls

12:00pm Thursday 23rd February 2006

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IT has to be said; you can't imagine anything more Australian than kangaroo when talking about national cuisines.

Many ecologists have said that it makes environmental sense to source some food from animals that belong to the wild.

The kangaroo industry is a great example of this philosophy. Kangaroo is of high quality and, like other game meats, is lean and has the lowest cholesterol level of all red meats.

The prime cuts of kangaroo are very similar to young farmed venison most recipes for venison work well with roo.

This lean game meat has a history of early settlers and explorers in Australia; there are diary records dating back as early for a young country as 1870 for kangaroo roast and tail soup. Today in Australia it is not your everyday staple cut of meat like lamb or beef roo is found more in restaurants and more and more innovative chefs are finding different ways of using this indigenous meat.

Kangaroo is rich in flavour and tender. It is best cooked on the grill or roasted rare. You should trim the meat of any sinew or gristle, as this will make it tough.

Kangaroo only has two per cent fat; it has no natural oil to keep it moist while cooking, so when cooked well done will taste chewy.

My recipe this week is kangaroo spring rolls after cooking roo for a few years I like to eat it oriental-style.

You will need spring roll pastry sheets from the freezer section of your local supermarket.

You will need to order your kangaroo meat in advance; one packet of fillet or rump will do, it tends to be about 500g.

You will need a deep fryer or a pot on the stove half full of oil on medium heat.

Kangaroo spring rolls

Marinate 200g of your packet of kangaroo in a little soy, ginger, garlic, chilli and a combination of sesame and vegetable oil. You can grill it rare after an hour or so watch the cooking time as it does cook quickly. Let it cool and slice into thin strips.

Ingredients

For the filling: 1 red pepper, sliced; 1 brown onion, sliced; 1 medium carrot, cut into strips; 100g beanshoots; 2 cups of choy sum (oriental cabbage) sliced finely; 4cm of ginger, chopped finely; bunch chopped coriander; 1 tsp fresh mint, chopped; 1 tsp sesame oil and 1 beaten egg for brushing.

Method

Place oil in hot pan or preferably a wok, stir fry vegetables and season with salt and a dash of soy and sweet chilli until cooked. Drain in a sieve in the sink you need dry vegetables or your pastry will go soft.

To make your spring rolls, peel two sheets of pastry per person. Place your pastry sheet on a clean surface and brush the edges with a little beaten egg.

Place a line of vegetable mix and then spread a line of kangaroo on top; leave a couple of centimetres each side.

Fold your sides in and then roll to form the shape of a cigar. Then re-roll in second sheet of pastry. Fry until golden and serve with soy and sweet chilli.

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