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Tuesday 20 September 2011

Thai Chilli Basil Mince

I love cooking.  I find it theraputic and I usually only choose things to cook each day that I really feel like cooking.  I love looking at cooking books, websites and blogs to get recipe ideas (my fav food blogs are Oh She Glows, The New Healthy and The Food Pornographer).  Tonight however, I had a request from LA.  This doesn't often happen, he usually waits for me to dish up whatever I have decided to make.  Possibly because he has got used to me saying, "Um, I don't really feel like cooking that tonight..."
LA's favourite of all my dishes, Thai Chilli Basil Mince was his request tonight.  And I decided to oblige!  Here is my tried and true recipe.

Thai Chilli Basil Mince
  • 3 red and 2 green chillis, sliced (adjust to taste)
  • 4 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 4 spring onions, sliced
  • 1 brown onion, sliced
  • 500g mince
  • 4 Tbsp Fish Sauce
  • 3Tbsp Oyster Sauce
  • 1/4 cup Chicken Stock
  • 1 tsp Palm Sugar
  • 1 cup fresh Basil, shredded
  • Steamed rice, cucumber and tomato to serve.

Chop all the vegetables
Fry brown onions in a little oil until slightly browned
Add mince and fry until browned
Add chillis, garlic, fish and oyster sauce, palm sugar and stock.  Bring to boil.  Add spring onions and cook on medium heat for 4 mins.

Remove from heat and stir through shredded basil. 
Serve over steamed jasmine rice...
with a side of cooling cucumber and tomato slices.

My new secret ingredient in Thai cooking is the use of Palm Sugar - little cubes that you grate into dishes to add a thick sweetness in the sauce.  This was an ingredient I often left out of Thai recipes, substituting for brown sugar usually.  I always wondered why my sauces never obtained the thick sweetness that I loved in Thai stirfry dishes when we ate out.  The day I tried Palm Sugar was the day I solved this issue.  Being a cheap and fairly easily to find ingredient, I highly recommend you try this out of you haven't already. 
I hope you enjoy this recipe, if you try it please comment and let me know what you think! 
Thanks food friends!
Christie.

2 comments:

  1. Oh, yum! This looks great. I bet the leftovers would be lovely over a bed of lettuce.

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  2. @Jess
    Hi Jess, it would be super-yum in a crunchy lettuce cup im sure! The cucmber goes so well for cooling properties and I think lettuce would do the same - I'll try it next time I think!

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