Thai beef basil: A trip in a rice bowl

L'Orient-Le Jour

10-05-2025

Food memories are a wonderful thing. They recall a time and place, and bring back sights, smells, sounds and tastes. When lucky, one can recreate an approximation of the dish.
This recipe is one such food memory. It has been adapted for the local Lebanese palette, which favors a bit more acidity, and uses the specialty ingredient of fish sauce, now in Lebanese grocery stores. It is a fiery, tangy and comforting dish, served on top of steamed white rice.
Thai beef basil stir-fry with rice
Serves 4
Time: 1 hour
Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients:
Rice:
200 grams (1 cup) unwashed jasmine rice
2 cups water
Pinch of salt
Beef:
1 kilogram ground beef
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
10 garlic cloves, minced
3 bell peppers, red or green, sliced
1-5 chili peppers (depending on your heat tolerance), minced
1 cube of soup stock (beef or vegetable)
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon white vinegar
2 tablespoon black pepper
15 green beans, chopped into one-centimeter-long pieces
1 bunch of fresh basil, stems removed, roughly chopped
Salt to taste
Looking for dessert?
Eggs:
4 eggs
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
Chili sauce (optional):
1-3 red chilis, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 green onions, finely chopped
Directions:
Start by cooking the rice in a small pot. Add the two cups of water to the pot and the salt. Bring to a boil. Once the water has boiled, add the unwashed rice. Cover with a lid, and reduce the heat to low. Cook until the rice is fluffy and all the water has evaporated. This should take 15 to 20 minutes. Set aside.
While the rice is cooking, in a large pan, add the vegetable oil and the ground beef. Break up the ground beef using a wooden spoon, and cook until the beef is browned well and is starting to get crispy. Add the green beans to the beef and mix in. Make a small well in the center of the pan. Add the chopped garlic and chopped chilis. Let them cook for 2-3 minutes before mixing them in with the rest of the meat. Add the bell peppers and let the ingredients come together. Once the bell peppers have begun to wilt, add the fish sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and black pepper. Crumble the stock cube and add it on top. Toss all the ingredients in the sauce until everything is nicely coated. Taste for seasoning and adjust accordingly. Remove from the heat and add the chopped basil, tossing to combine. Set aside until you are ready to serve.
To make the chili sauce, mix together the diced chilis, fish sauce, vinegar, lemon juice and green onions.
For the eggs, in a small pan, heat 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil until it shimmers. Crack the first egg and fry until the whites are crispy but the yolk is still runny. Remove from the oil and fry the remaining eggs one at a time.
To serve, place a proper mound of rice on the plate. Spoon the meat next to the rice. Top with a fried egg and let each person add chili sauce according to their preference. Enjoy the cacophony of flavor!