Miso Pheasant Skewers with Soy Dipping Sauce

Prep the Pheasant

Mix the miso paste and water until you have a well-mixed opaque brown liquid. Slice the pheasant breast lengthways, around as thickly as your little finger. Add the meat to the marinade and leave for about half an hour before threading onto the skewers.

A brief note on the miso – there are lots of miso pastes out there but the one I like best for this recipe is the Sanhi brand dark miso paste, made with Soya beans, Barley and Koji seeds – this gives a great flavour but of course is not gluten free – so worth bearing in mind if you are cooking for people with intolerances.

Make the 7 Spice

Grind up all the whole spices, either in a small electric spice grinder, or a pestle and mortar. Add the ground cinnamon and mix together. This will keep well in a jar for weeks.

In place of the 7 spice, you could cheat and use a shop bought Chinese 5 spice mix, but I prefer to make my own.

Create the Soy Dip

Warm everything together in a very small pan until the sugar dissolves – just bring it to a simmer and then take it off the heat. You can add a squeeze of lime and fresh chopped coriander after it has cooled if you wish to do so.

Cook the Skewers

In a good non-stick pan (or under a very hot grill or on a barbecue) cook your kebabs with a small amount of vegetable oil brushed onto them. Cook until they are firm to the touch, but try not to overdo it, which will end up drying them out.

Serve

Once cooked, simply serve them up with a pot of the dop, and the (optional) cup of seaweed. I like to remove the stick, drizzle with dip, and then fold into a seaweed sheet for ease of nibbling.