NEW RECIPE: Elk Flank Stir-fry with Chinese Black Moss

© Constantine William Spyrou

I'll admit, this isn't the most tasty-sounding recipe title or dish I've probably come up with. But when you work with strange and new ingredients, you've got to branch out and try new things. That's what came up in the Ethnic Mystery Box challenge for MasterChef, where contestants had to deal with greens, Spanish cured tuna, Chinese black moss, and other ingredients. Since I was familiar with the pickled daikon and the Chinese black moss and recognized them on the show, I decided to do a stir-fry with the elk with the Chinese black moss acting as noodles. My mom has cooked Chinese black moss before with noodles and it is literally just like a more flavorful pasta, so I do think it can work with the gameyness of the elk and the pickled daikon. We'll see how this turns out! 

Recipe makes one serving.

Ingredients:

1 package Chinese black moss, dehydrated
1/2 pound elk flank steak, sliced into strips
1/4 cup pickled daikon, diced
1/2 cup collard greens, raw
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 clove chopped garlic
1 tsp ground ginger
Salt and pepper to season

Cooking/Assembling:

1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Add the Chinese black moss and cook for 15 minutes until it is al dente. Drain, and set aside.
2. Marinate the elk flank strips in the soy sauce, garlic, ginger, salt, and pepper for 10 minutes. While that is going on, blanch off the collard greens in the slated water and chop roughly.
3. Add canola or sesame oil to a hot pan. Quickly saute the greens and toss in the marinated elk flank steak. Mix into the noodles, and serve in a bowl. Garnish with the pickled daikon.

This dish really plays to my Asian roots and is meant to be simple and homey but delicious, a more home-cook spin on taking tough ingredients and turning them into a masterpiece.

I hope you enjoyed this recipe! Let me know what you think and what you would change. If you make this, let me know how it turns out! Enjoy! =)