Stir-Fried Minced Beef With Chillies And Holy Basil

By stancec44

Although beef was probably the first meat to be used, now minced chicken or pork, whole prawns or scored squid, even fish dumplings are cooked in this way. I find a rather coarse mince yields the best result – ideally done by hand, and using a cut of beef with some fat attached, such as flank, rump or shoulder.

Strangely, for this dish I find that mincing or chopping the garlic and chillies gives a better flavour than pounding them. Add as many small chillies as you can bear – head towards 10, as this is meant to be hot. This dish and an egg or two over some steaming rice, with a bowl of chillies in fish sauce alongside, is Thai ambrosia.

Ingredients

• Chillies in fish sauce:
• garlic cloves 4 peeled
• bird's eye chillies (scuds) 4-10
• good pinch of salt
• vegetable oil 3-4 tbsp
• eggs 2
• coarsely minced beef 200g
• fish sauce about 2 tbsp
• white sugar a large pinch
• stock or water 4 tbsp
• holy basil leaves 2 large handfuls
• fish sauce 4 tbsp
• bird's eye chillies 10-15, finely sliced
• garlic cloves (optional but desirable) 2, finely sliced
• lime juice (optional) 1 tbsp
• chopped coriander a good pinch

Details

Servings 2
Adapted from theguardian.com

Preparation

Step 1

Coarsely chop the garlic with the chillies and salt. Heat a well-seasoned wok over a high heat then turn down the heat and add 2 tablespoons of the oil. Crack in one of the eggs and fry gently, shuffling the egg to prevent it from sticking, until it has cooked to your preference – I like mine with a runny yolk but with crispy, frazzled edges. Spoon some of the hot oil over the egg to ensure the yolk cooks evenly. Carefully lift out the egg with a spatula and place it on a warmed plate, then fry the other egg. Keep the eggs warm while you cook the beef.

Add more oil – you'll need about 4 tablespoons in all in the wok. When the oil is hot, fry the garlic and chillies for a moment, but don't let them colour. Add the minced beef and continue to stir-fry for a minute until just cooked. Season to taste with the fish sauce and sugar but be careful not to make it too salty.

Add the stock or water and simmer for a moment. Don't let it boil or stew for too long, otherwise the meat will toughen and too much liquid will evaporate – there should be enough to form a sauce. Stir in the holy basil and as soon as it is wilted remove from the heat. It should taste rich, hot, salty and spicy from the basil.

To make the sauce, combine the fish sauce, chillies and garlic in a bowl and set aside. It keeps for some time – in fact it becomes richer and milder as it settles for a day. Make sure it is covered if you are making it in advance – and if the fish sauce evaporates, add an equivalent amount of water to refresh it. Just before serving, stir through the lime juice and coriander.

Serve on two plates with plenty of steamed jasmine rice, a fried egg on top and a bowl of chillies in fish sauce on the side.