Best Basil Beef Fried Rice Recipes

SPICY BASIL BEEF (PAD KRAPOW)

Steps:

• Combine the sweet soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce and chili paste in a small bowl and reserve.
• Heat your wok or large skillet over high heat and add 3 tablespoons of the vegetable oil. Crack one egg into the wok and allow the bottom to crisp for a couple of seconds, while keeping the pan moving, then baste until the top of the egg is mostly white, about 1 minute. Set aside on a paper-towel-lined plate, and then fry the second egg. Hold both eggs on the plate until ready to serve.
• Heat your wok or large skillet over high heat and add the remaining 3 tablespoons vegetable oil. When wisps of white smoke appear, add the ground beef, flattening against the pan, and cook undisturbed for about 45 seconds. The beef will start to brown; turn over once, press flat against the pan and cook for another 30 seconds. Add garlic and chilies. Cook them until the garlic starts to brown, about 30 seconds. Add the onion. Break up the meat into gravel-size pieces and drain any excess liquid.
• Stir in the bell pepper and stir-fry for about a minute. Add the reserved sauce to the wok and combine the ingredients thoroughly for about 1 minute. Add the Thai basil and cook until the beef is thoroughly cooked and onions are slightly tender. Finish with white pepper.
• Transfer to a platter and top with the reserved fried eggs.

SPICY BEEF STIR-FRY WITH BASIL

Steps:

• If you're making rice with this dish, get it started. In a small bowl, stir together the soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, chicken stock and sugar. In a mortar or small food processor, grind together the garlic and chiles into a coarse paste.
• Heat the lard in a wok or large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic-chile paste, and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute. Before the garlic starts to brown, add the beef, and stir-fry to separate the pieces and coat with fat. Add the liquid mixture, making sure not to leave any behind in the bowl, and cook until the beef is only barely pink, about 2 minutes. Add the lime leaves, and continue to cook until no pink remains on the beef, about 1 minute. Add the basil leaves, and stir until they are just starting to wilt, then remove from heat and serve with rice. (You can fish out the large pieces of makrut leaves before serving or put them aside as you eat.)

CLASSIC BEEF FRIED RICE

Steps:

• First, combine the beef, salt, water, baking soda, dark soy sauce, cornstarch, and oil in a bowl and stir until well-incorporated. Set aside. (We added a bit of water to marinate the beef, which generally is a no-no for beef...but for this fried rice dish, it keeps the small morsels of beef juicy and tender!)
• Next, combine the hot water, sugar, sesame oil, soy sauces, MSG (if using), and white pepper in a small bowl. This is the sauce that you'll be adding to the rice, and it's much easier to have it combined and ready to go before you start cooking.
• Take your cooked rice and fluff it with a fork or with your hands (you can rinse your hands in cold water if the rice starts sticking to them). If you are using cold leftover rice, try to break up the clumps as best as possible.
• Heat your wok over medium high heat, add 1 tablespoon of oil and the eggs, and scramble them until just cooked. You can start scooping them up when they look like they are almost done. Transfer them back into the same bowl you mixed them in and set aside. They will continue to cook in the bowl and you will cook them again in the rice.
• Heat the wok until just smoking and spread 1 tablespoon oil around your wok. Add the marinated beef in one layer, and let sear for 20 seconds. Next, stir fry the beef until about 70% done. Transfer the beef back to the marinade bowl, and set aside.
• With the wok over medium high heat, add the last tablespoon of oil, and sauté the onions until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the rice, using a metal spatula to flatten out and break up any large clumps. If the rice is cold from the refrigerator, continue stir-frying until the rice is warmed up, about 5 minutes. Also, sprinkling a little water on large clumps of rice will help break them up more easily.
• Once the rice is warmed through, add the sauce mixture. Stir the rice with a scooping motion until the grains are evenly coated with sauce. The rice should be completely hot by now. Next, add the beef and any juices from the bowl you set aside earlier, and stir fry for another minute.
• Add the eggs, breaking up any large clumps, peas, and the scallions. Continue stir-frying for another 30 seconds. Push the rice into the middle of the wok to let the perimeter of the wok heat up. After about 20 seconds, pour 1 tablespoon of Shaoxing wine around the perimeter of the wok. Stir-fry for another 20 seconds. Adding the wine using this method gives the dish a little extra wok hei! At this point, taste the rice to see if it needs a little more salt, soy sauce, or white pepper and season accordingly.
• Serve immediately, and, if you're like us, don't forget some homemade chili oil!

BASIL BEEF STIR-FRY

Steps:

• Cook the rice as the label directs. Set aside off the heat, about 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.
• Meanwhile, combine the soy sauce, fish sauce, lime juice and sugar in a small bowl. Whisk to dissolve the sugar.
• Heat the vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. When the oil is hot, crumble the beef into the skillet and cook, undisturbed, until slightly crisp on the bottom, 2 to 3 minutes. Cook, stirring with a wooden spoon to break up the meat, until cooked through, 1 to 2 more minutes. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate with a slotted spoon. Discard the fat in the skillet and wipe the skillet clean.
• Return the skillet to medium-high heat and add the soy sauce mixture. Bring to a simmer, then add the beef, scallions, chiles, snow peas and garlic. Cook, stirring, until the vegetables are crisp-tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the basil. Stir until just wilted, 30 seconds to 1 minute.
• Divide the rice among shallow bowls. Spoon the stir-fry on top. Serve with lime wedges.

THAI SPICY BASIL FRIED RICE

Steps:

• Whisk together oyster sauce, fish sauce, soy sauce, and sugar. Set aside.
• Spray a wok or large frying pan with olive oil spray and heat over medium-high heat.
• Add the garlic and chili (or serrano) peppers and stir fry for 30 seconds.
• Add the red pepper and onion and stir fry until the onion is translucent. If using chicken or beef, add it with the the onion and red pepper. Cook until chicken is done, or beef is about medium.
• Push ingredients in the wok/pan aside and quickly scramble the egg.
• Add the oyster sauce mixture and stir everything together.
• Raise the heat to high and add the chilled rice. Stir until blended with the sauce and other ingredients, breaking up clumps of rice with the back of a spoon.
• Add more soy, oyster, or fish sauce, if necessary (or to taste).
• When everything is blended together and rice is hot, remove from heat and stir in the basil.
• Garnish with cilantro, if desired.