Thai Basil Beef

A great stir fry recipe with sauced up ground beef, sweet pepper, and fresh basil.

Stir frys are great recipes for busy nights. Our fall seems to always be super packed with all the things - between marching band and soccer. This particular recipe is kinda light on vegetables in the recipe itself, so we served some broccoli on the side. The sauce mixture is so packed with flavor and it’s bold and rich. I wish my grocery store would have had Thai basil, which would have been my preference. However, the regular basil worked well and was fantastic too. I definitely think this recipe would be great with other ground meats - turkey, chicken, or pork.

What You Need:

• 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

• 2 shallots, thinly sliced

• 7 cloves minced garlic

• 1 Tbsp. minced fresh ginger

• 1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced

• 1 lb. ground beef

• 2 tsp. brown sugar

• 2 Tbsp. fish sauce

• 6 Tbsp. low sodium soy sauce

• 3 tsp. oyster sauce

• 2 Tbsp. garlic chili paste (or more for additional heat)

• 1/2 cup low sodium beef broth

• 1/4 cup water

• 1 tsp. cornstarch

• 1 cup fresh basil leaves (Thai, if you can find it)

• Cooked jasmine rice for serving

Directions:

1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat and add shallots, garlic, ginger, and bell pepper. Cook for 3 minutes while stirring.

2. Push veggies to the side and add ground beef. Cook and crumble.

3. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce, oyster sauce, cornstarch, beef broth, and water.

4. Add mixture to the skillet and stir to combine. Cook for 2 minutes.

5. Add basil and cook until wilted.

6. Serve over cooked rice.

Recipe from The Recipe Critic