Spicy Thai Basil Beef (easy Thai food #2)

 

 

 

 OK. Last week I was going on about the wonders of Thai Basil and since it doesn't last too long I wanted to get two dishes out of that bag I bought at Gilmours. And this is another favourite around here which needs fresh basil...

I reckon mince is pretty much the best comfort food there is whichever culture you happen to come from, be it a cottage pie or lasagna, moussaka or ma po tofu. And so it is with Thai food and this wonderful recipe which I should mention before we start has probably moved several steps away from authentic. 

And like that last chicken dish this one should probably use Holy Basil rather than Thai Basil to be true to its roots. Who cares? I like it better like this and Holy Basil is harder to find than hen's teeth. It's a super-tasty and super-easy dish to make, just five minutes chopping, a couple of minutes to mix the sauce, and five minutes frying. You can adjust the heat level by raising or lowering the number of chillis. If you put the seeds in with them I'd say 3 was "medium" hot... (and do watch hands and eyes when chopping them - those little buggers can really mess you up.)

OK. Here we go. This should serve two people, three if you add a vegetable dish or salad.

SPICY THAI BASIL BEEF 

(Pad Kra Pao)

 

INGREDIENTS

• 400g beef mince
• 4 Tbs cooking oil
  
• 2 eggs
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 3-4 scud (bird's eye) chillis, chopped
  
• 1/2 medium onion or red onion or 2 spring onions, chopped (small dice) 
  
• Big handful of Thai Basil leaves

Sauce

• 1½ Tbs Palm Sugar
• 3 Tbs Fish Sauce
• 1½ Tbs Kecap Manis (sweet soy sauce)
  
• 2 Tsp Oyster Sauce
• ¼ cup stock (chicken, beef, vege, or failing that water) 
• Juice of 1 Lime (optional)

METHOD

• Mix sauce ingredients. (I grate the palm sugar.)
  
• Fry eggs in 2 Tbs oil. Set aside.
• Fry garlic and chillis in 2 Tbs oil, 1 minute.
• Turn up heat, add mince and fry at high temperature till it's brown, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Add onion and fry till slightly softened, 1 or 2 minutes.
• Add sauce, it should immediately boil, mix it all up. 
• Add basil, stir in very briefly. Save some leaves for garnish.
• Sprinkle with lime juice (if using), garnish with basil.
• Serve over rice, topped with eggs. (Salt 'n' pepper them too...)
  

NOTE: Kecap Manis, or sweet soy sauce is, as the name suggests, sweet and also very thick. It is inexpensive and available at all Asian food stores. The lime juice is great for an extra kick but if you don't have it don't worry: I wouldn't bother to substitute lemon as it's not really the same, just skip it.

ANOTHER NOTE: You will notice that there are two eggs on that dish at the bottom. That's because I'm greedy and like an extra egg. One is traditional. The eggs are best fried quickly and hot so some of the white crisps up. 

FINAL NOTE: I've used light palm sugar here but it could just as well be dark. It's worth getting some, either light or dark. It is inexpensive and really is different from regular white sugar, not as sweet for a start...

OH, AND ONE MORE JUST FOR LUCK: There are, of course, many variations on the Thai name for this dish in case anyone wants to berate me for incorrect spelling. It could also be Pad Ka Prao, Pad Ka Pow, Pad Krapow or several other variations.