Thai Basil Mince Beef

I am actually a big fan of Thai food. Thai food has very complex flavour that somehow works so well together. The combination of palm sugar, fish sauce, tamarind and various herbs just makes such perfect combination that the moment you have a bite of your favourite Thai dish you just get immediate satisfaction out of it. Regardless of what dish it is, whether it's green to red curry, tomyam, Thai food is definitely one of my favourite cuisine of all time. I am yet to find a dish I don't like.

This dish is one of my favourite. I remember first having it at one of the most popular Thai restaurant here in Melbourne, Ying Thai. The moment I had my first bite I immediately fell in love with this dish and wanted to recreate it at home.

Hope you will enjoy this recipe as much as I do. You can put some chopped red chillies in this dish if you like hot food.

And oh ya, I saw some leaves coming out of my herb garden. So exciting. Hopefully it will start to sprout soon. I planted some sweet basil too. Hopefully it will grow well and I can just take some basil from my herb garden and use them in my cooking anytime I want. =)
Thai Basil Mince Beef

Ingredients:

• 400grams minced beef ( again, if you don't like or eat beef, substitute with any kinds of mince meat)
• 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 2 shallots, finely chopped
• 1 red capsicum, sliced thinly
• 1/2 cup basil leaves
• 1/4 cup water
• 3 birds' eye chillies, finely chopped ( optional)
• 1/4 cup chopped spring onions
  

Seasoning:

• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons ABC kecap manis ( thick soy sauce)
• 1 tablespoon palm sugar ( you can use regular sugar as well)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Methods:

1. Heat up oil in your wok.
2. Once the oil is hot enough, add in the shallots, garlic and chillies (if you are adding them)
   
3. Stir fry until fragrant
4. Add in minced beef
5. Stir fry until the beef is cooked. Then add in water, capsicum and all the seasonings
6. When the capsicum is cooked, add in the basil leaves and chopped spring onions, and stir fry for another 1-2 mins until the leaves have all wilted
7. Adjust seasoning.
8. Serve with warm rice.