Thai Basil Beef Stir Fry

A super quick and aromatic stir fry.

2-4 servings
30 minutes
Ethan Chlebowski

Ingredients

Basil beef

  • Ground beef
    450 g1 lb
  • Cooking oil
    a drizzle
  • Salt
    2 ga sprinkle
  • Shallots, thinly sliced
    2
  • Thai basil, roughly chopped
    1 bunch

Stir fry sauce

  • Thai Black Soy Sauce
    25 g1 part
  • Sriracha
    25 g1 part
  • Fish Sauce
    25 g1 part

For serving

  • Jasmine Rice

Method

Step 1: Start the rice, prep the sauce & other ingredients

Start the jasmine rice with your preferred cooking method. While the rice is going, make the rest of this recipe.

Roughly chop a full bunch of basil and then thinly slice the shallots orbitally into half moons.

Mix the sauce ingredients until combined. The sauce should be balanced (salty, spicy, and sweet) but strong. Taste and adjust if desired.

Step 2: Sear & break up the ground beef

Set a wok or pan over medium heat. Add in a drizzle of oil, and then add the ground beef. Add a sprinkle of salt over top then allow that to undisturbed for a minute or two.

Using a spatula or potato masher, start to break up the ground beef as it cooks.

Continue searing and breaking it up until the meat is nicely and broken down into a fairly even, pebbly texture.

Step 3: Add the shallots & sauce

Add the sliced shallots and until fragrant and the shallots are softened.

Drizzle in most of the sauce around the edges of the wok and stir fry to incorporate it into the beef.

  • If needed, add the rest of the sauce to fully coat the mixture.

Lower the heat and allow the sauce to and a bit. Taste the mixture and adjust with extra fish sauce, sriracha, or Thai soy sauce if needed.

Step 4: Stir in the basil & serve over rice

Turn off the heat and stir in the basil. The residual heat will soften the basil, which will perfume the dish with its aromas.

When the rice is finished, add a portion to a bowl, and top with a serving of the stir fry. Enjoy warm.

“A weeknight dish I make all the time inspired by pad kra pao. The leftovers are amazing. ”

Ethan Chlebowski
Creator

Watch & Cook

Nutritional Information

entire recipe
Calories1217
31g
70g
118g

Show macros split into…

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Recommended: 3 servings

FAQ

What substitutes can I use in the stir-fry sauce? I don’t have black Thai soy sauce…

1) Black Thai soy sauce is very . It’s more like syrup than normal soy sauce. You could substitute it for another sweet ingredient. Try: hoisin, honey, molasses, or even brown sugar.

2) The fish sauce brings and . If you don’t have it or don’t like it, you could substitute it with a similar flavored condiment: standard soy sauce, oyster sauce, Maggi seasoning, or coconut aminos.

3) The sriracha brings and body to the sauce. Any hot sauce or chile product could work. Try: sambal or chile crisp. Make sure to balance salty/umami, sweet, spicy flavors in the sauce. Taste and adjust to your preferences.

Can I use regular basil? And can I use onion instead of shallot?

Thai basil brings a unique to this dish and is worth seeking out. Holy basil is a close substitute, however, this recipe will still be delicious with standard (Genovese) basil, but the flavor profile will be slightly different. As covered in this onion deep dive video, shallot brings a stronger allium flavor to cooked dishes. You can use onion as a substitute, but the flavor won’t be as strong. Red onion gets you a closer flavor to shallot than white or yellow varieties.

Any tips for cooking the jasmine rice?

For jasmine rice, you can use a 1:1 ratio of rice to water by volume (not by weight), which is an easy way to eyeball the rice. Different varieties of rice will require different amounts of water to cook through. If in doubt, follow the directions on the rice packaging or your rice cooker protocols (if using).