Thai Basil Noodles

Several months ago, we took a cooking class at Thai Fresh with Jam. The class was noodle-centric and, as I've slowly moved my things into my new home over the past few weeks, one thing is clear: between the two of us, we have a sizable collection of Asian noodles in all shapes and sizes. I'm vowing to cook our way through them to make room in the pantry. (Probably for fresher noodles.)

We picked up some ground beef at the Hope Farmer's market recently, and I figured it would make a great substitute for the pork used in Jam's Thai basil noodle dish. (It was, and I always feel great about cooking at home with a more responsible meat option. As a bonus, the meat wasn't nearly as fatty as your hormone-laden, H-E-B variety. It's hard to miss the fat when you're using generous amounts of oil for cooking the garlic, chilies and shallots.)


I'm too lazy to repost Jam's recipe (it's not on her blog; we only have a soy-stained hard copy), but fortunately, there's a near-identical copy out there.

"Everyday Food" is a DVR-must, and the only differences between this recipe and Jam's are the use of palm sugar instead of regular white sugar, the use of both dark and light soy sauce, and noodles vs. rice. Though once we get through our heap o' noodles, I'm going to try it with the EF's coconut rice suggestion.

Serves 6

1 1/4 cups jasmine rice
1 can (13.5 ounces) coconut milk
(Or sub these first two items for noodles!)
Coarse salt
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon fish sauce
2 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar (We used palm sugar)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 garlic cloves, chopped
(We added a shallot)
3 long hot peppers or red jalapeno chiles, seeded and sliced into 2-inch matchsticks
1 1/4 pounds ground beef sirloin
1 cup loosely packed torn fresh basil leaves
Lime wedges, for serving

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, combine rice, coconut milk, 3/4 cup water, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cover and bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook until rice is tender and liquid has been absorbed, about 25 minutes.

2. When rice is almost done, combine fish sauce, soy sauce, and sugar in a small bowl; set aside. Heat a cast-iron skillet or wok over high. Add oil and heat; add garlic and half the chiles. Cook, stirring constantly, 15 seconds. Add beef and cook, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until completely browned, about 4 minutes. Add soy mixture and cook 30 seconds. Add basil and remaining chiles and stir to combine. Serve beef over coconut rice (or noodles!) with lime wedges.