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This is one of my favourite dishes, lovely served with rice and "Hor Pao Dan" (i.e. runny egg!!). So easy to make and very tasty. When I am in a hurry, I love doing a minced meat stir-fry - no chopping required, and the meat marinates very quickly.
Recipe for Thai Fried Beef with Basil
Serves 4
Ingredients:
400 gram minced beef
Marinade:
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1/2 tbsp sugar
3/4 tbsp cornflour
For frying:
2-3 chilli padis, sliced. If you can't take spice, remove the seeds.
a handful of Thai Basil or Thai Holy Basil, leaves picked
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1 tbsp chopped shallots
fish sauce to taste (about 1/2 tbsp)
some water (about 1/4 cup)
Method:
1. Marinate minced beef in marinade ingredients, for 1 -2 hours. If not time, marinate for a while only also ok lah. No need overnight.
2. Heat up some oil in wok, add garlic and shallots and fry, don't burn!
3. If you like your dish spicy, add the sliced chillies at this point and fry. If not, add them together with the basil leaves later.
4. Add minced beef and fry, breaking it up as you go along. Control your heat at this point, turning up if necessary. You don't want your beef to be 'boiled' or 'steamed', very unappetising, you need it browned over high heat. Cannot cook too long or beef will be tough, work quickly!!
5. When beef is 85% cooked (can still see little bit pink in some portions), quickly put in leaves (and chillies, if adding at this stage) and stir around, add a bit of water (enough to make a little bit of gravy, should not be swimming in gravy, and fish sauce to taste. Be careful when adding fish sauce, it is very salty, more salty than light soya sauce. By this time leaves should be wilted and beef cooked.
6. Serve immediately with rice, and a sunny side up egg :)
Notes:
(1) Beef dishes cannot be reheated, as it will toughen up. So cook just before serving.
(2) The authentic Thai dish is apparently cooked with Thai Holy Basil and not Thai Basil. But Thai Basil is an accepable substitute and as far as I have tasted and recall I have only ever seen it cooked with Thai Basil in Singapore. Anyway I only have Thai Basil in my garden ;) If you see Holy Basil let me know!!
(3) The best kind of hor pau dan, or sunny side up egg IMO, is flavoured with fish sauce. Cook your egg in a wok if possible (helps you to fold in into a 'hor pao 'i.e. pouch.) When cooked, lift out the egg, pour or scoop off oil until there is only about 1 tbsp left in the wok, switch off flame. Quickly pour in 1/2 tbsp fish sauce in the wok, swirl around to warm it up in the hot oil and then pour mixture over the egg. I like fish sauce warmed up this way otherwise it has a funny fishy taste.
Recipe for Thai Fried Beef with Basil
Serves 4
Ingredients:
400 gram minced beef
Marinade:
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1/2 tbsp sugar
3/4 tbsp cornflour
For frying:
2-3 chilli padis, sliced. If you can't take spice, remove the seeds.
a handful of Thai Basil or Thai Holy Basil, leaves picked
1 tbsp chopped garlic
1 tbsp chopped shallots
fish sauce to taste (about 1/2 tbsp)
some water (about 1/4 cup)
Method:
1. Marinate minced beef in marinade ingredients, for 1 -2 hours. If not time, marinate for a while only also ok lah. No need overnight.
2. Heat up some oil in wok, add garlic and shallots and fry, don't burn!
3. If you like your dish spicy, add the sliced chillies at this point and fry. If not, add them together with the basil leaves later.
4. Add minced beef and fry, breaking it up as you go along. Control your heat at this point, turning up if necessary. You don't want your beef to be 'boiled' or 'steamed', very unappetising, you need it browned over high heat. Cannot cook too long or beef will be tough, work quickly!!
5. When beef is 85% cooked (can still see little bit pink in some portions), quickly put in leaves (and chillies, if adding at this stage) and stir around, add a bit of water (enough to make a little bit of gravy, should not be swimming in gravy, and fish sauce to taste. Be careful when adding fish sauce, it is very salty, more salty than light soya sauce. By this time leaves should be wilted and beef cooked.
6. Serve immediately with rice, and a sunny side up egg :)
Notes:
(1) Beef dishes cannot be reheated, as it will toughen up. So cook just before serving.
(2) The authentic Thai dish is apparently cooked with Thai Holy Basil and not Thai Basil. But Thai Basil is an accepable substitute and as far as I have tasted and recall I have only ever seen it cooked with Thai Basil in Singapore. Anyway I only have Thai Basil in my garden ;) If you see Holy Basil let me know!!
(3) The best kind of hor pau dan, or sunny side up egg IMO, is flavoured with fish sauce. Cook your egg in a wok if possible (helps you to fold in into a 'hor pao 'i.e. pouch.) When cooked, lift out the egg, pour or scoop off oil until there is only about 1 tbsp left in the wok, switch off flame. Quickly pour in 1/2 tbsp fish sauce in the wok, swirl around to warm it up in the hot oil and then pour mixture over the egg. I like fish sauce warmed up this way otherwise it has a funny fishy taste.
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