Thai Basil Beef with Coconut Rice
Super flavorful dish. The combo of the ginger, basil and coconut milk is fantastic. Definitely one of my favorite Asian dishes I’ve made.
Thai Basil Beef with Coconut Rice
Ingredients
- 1 14-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk
- 4 slices peeled fresh ginger
- 1 cup jasmine rice
- 1/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon low-sodium soy sauce
- Juice of 2 limes
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 Persian cucumbers, quartered lengthwise, then halved
- 1 cup packed fresh basil, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 pound ground beef
- 1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
Instructions
- Bring the coconut milk, 3/4 cup water and the ginger to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the rice and return to a boil. Stir, then cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer until the liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender, about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit, covered, 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
- Meanwhile, whisk 1/4 cup soy sauce, the lime juice and sugar in a small bowl. Toss the cucumbers with 1 tablespoon basil and the remaining 1 teaspoon soy sauce in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in a medium skillet over high heat. Add the beef and cook, breaking up the meat, until browned and cooked through, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl; set aside.
- Reduce the heat to medium high. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon vegetable oil to the skillet. Add the bell pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until golden, 2 minutes. Increase the heat to high and return the beef and any accumulated juices to the skillet. Stir in the soy sauce mixture and cook until the liquid evaporates, 2 minutes. Add the remaining basil and cook, stirring, until just wilted, about 1 minute. Serve the beef and cucumber salad over the rice.
Notes
Sushi Rice & Dressing
Growing up, sushi was not a thing. Then one day my sister, Molly, said…we’re going to go eat sushi (at Sushi Den in Denver) and it was unlike anything I had ever had. I loved it. And I’m not really into fish or fishyness. To this day, I prepare my soy sauce the way Molly taught me. I take some wasabi and put it in the soy sauce dish. Then add a splash of soy sauce and using a chopstick, I work it into a paste. I then slowly add soy sauce. This ensures the wasabi gets completely mixed into the soy sauce and I don’t have any surprise bursts of wasabi that light my nostrils on fire.
Fast forward to a couple months ago, we took a sushi class and learned how to make sushi rice and some sushi rolls. It’s very important to a) use sushi rice and b) use seasoned vinegar when making sushi rice. The vinegar keeps the rice safe from airborne bacteria because it will not be at food-safe temperatures while you’re making sushi. It also gives it flavor.
True Story: when we left Sushi Den, Molly was driving and just a block or two from the restaurant she slammed on the brakes and gasped, “I just saw a ferret!” I don’t even know where to start. 1. WHAT!? 2. What the hell does a ferret look like (this was like 2001-ish) 3. How did she see that thing? 4. Why is she getting out of the car!?? So yeah…she got out of the car and went and found it in the grass (WTF!??) and then rang a few doors until she found the owner. So when I eat sushi, I also think…ferret. IKR.
Sushi Rice & Dressing
Ingredients
- 1 cup Sushi rice per person
- 1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 tablespoons mirin rice wine
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Wash the rice before you cook it by swirling the rice around in water 3 times for 30 seconds each time. Use fresh water each time.
- Let the rice stand for 30 minutes.
- Using a rice cook, find the water:rice ratio and add the correct amount of water to the amount of rice you've just washed.
- Cook the rice on the "white rice" setting. Let it stand another 30 minutes.
- While the rice is cooking, slice your fish and other ingredients you’ll be using for sushi. Then prepare the dressing.
- Add the rice vinegar, sugar, rice wine and salt to a medium pot. Heat on low until sugar and salt are dissolved, stirring constantly. DO NOT LET SIMMER OR BOIL or the vinegar and mirin will lose flavor.
- Let it cool.
- Wet the rice paddle and mix the rice carefully while it’s in the rice pot.
- Sprinkle some rice vinegar in a pan/tray and then add the rice.
- Sprinkle the dressing on the rice and stir gently to mix together, fanning occasionally while mixing together. You should see the rice glisten. Continue to sprinkle and mix until you use ALL the dressing.
- Let the rice cool, then MAKE SUSHI!!
Notes