Thai Basil Beef Stir-Fry

A 5-minute meal for when you're starving and want a yummy homemade dinner right away.

OK, I lied.

It technically took me six minutes, but that wasn't nearly as catchy. I needed that extra minute to slice the shallots and mince the garlic.

That's not counting the cooking time for the rice, but if you have leftover rice that you could quickly zap in the microwave, then you're good to go. If not, this Thai Basil Beef Stir-Fry goes great in lettuce wraps for those who want to eat right away or are watching their carbs.



Thai Basil Beef Stir-Fry

For 2 servings as a meal, or 4 servings as a side, you'll need:
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 shallots, sliced thinly
1 lb ground beef
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp Nuoc Mam (Vietnamese Fish Sauce)
2 tsp oyster sauce
1 tsp  Indonesian Kecap Manis or substitute with 1 tsp dark soy sauce and 1/4 tsp sugar
4 or more sprigs of Thai basil, as many as you'd like, plucked and washed
1 tblsp chili garlic sauce, or less according to your spicy tolerance

Optional: Serve with a fried sunny-side up egg on top.

Nuke or cook a fresh pot of jasmine rice if you want to eat this with rice. Or if you want to eat the stir-fry in wraps, wash lettuce leaves and set aside.

Cook the sunny-side up egg ahead of time if you wish it add it on top. Set aside.

Quickly slice 2 shallots and mince 2 cloves of garlic. In a frying pan on medium-high heat, drizzle a bit of oil and saute the alliums until softened.



Add in the ground beef and stir to cook. If you haven't done so ahead of time, you can pluck the basil leaves while the beef is cooking.



When the meat is starting to brown, add 1/4 tsp salt, 1 tsp fish sauce, 2 tsps oyster sauce, and 1 tsp kecap manis. If you don't have kecap manis, you can substitute with 1 tsp dark soy sauce and 1/4 tsp sugar.



When the seasonings are evenly distributed and the beef is cooked, add as many basil leaves as you like and a generous tblsp of chili sambal, or less if you have a lower spicy tolerance.



Stir until the basil leaves are just wilted.



That's it!

Plate and serve with rice or a sunny-side up egg. Drizzle the sauce over the rice and egg. So yummy.



Or serve as lettuce wraps if you wish.



Enjoy!

Similar stir-fries:
Chinese Lettuce Wraps with Chicken, Water Chestnuts, and Bell Peppers

*****
1 year ago today,
2 years ago today,
3 years ago today, Canh Cai La Xanh (Vietnamese Collard Greens Soup).
4 years ago today, Nearly Wild Rose.
5 years ago today, Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus.
6 years ago today, J&J (Jin Jian) Restaurant - San Gabriel.