Stir-fried minced beef with chillies and holy basil (Neua pat bai grapao)

When I first read this I thought the chillies would make it extremely hot. By letting it sit for the day it was hot but not fiery. This is a really great dish well worth cooking.

Ingredients

4	garlic cloves
4-10	bird’s eye chillies (scuds)
Good pinch	of salt
3-4 tbsp	vegetable oil
2	eggs
200 gm	coarsely minced beef
About 2 tbsp	fish sauce
Large pinch	of white sugar
¼ cup	stock or water
2	large handfuls of holy basil leaves I used regular basil
To serve:	chillies in fish sauce
Chillies in fish sauce
¼ cup	fish sauce
10-15	bird’s eye chillies (scuds), finely sliced
2	garlic cloves, finely sliced (optional but desirable)
1 tbsp	lime juice (optional)
Good pinch	of chopped coriander

Method

1	For chillies in fish sauce, combine the fish sauce, chillies and garlic in a bowl and set aside. It keeps for some time – in fact it becomes richer and milder as it settles for a day. Make sure it is covered if you are making it in advance – and if the fish sauce evaporates, add an equivalent amount of water to refresh it. Just before serving, stir through the lime juice and coriander.
2	Coarsely chop the garlic with the chillies and salt.
3	Heat a well-seasoned wok over a high heat then turn down the heat and add 2 tablespoons of the oil. Crack in one of the eggs and fry gently, shuffling the egg to prevent it from sticking, until it has cooked to your preference – I like mine with a runny yolk but with crispy, frazzled edges. Spoon some of the hot oil over the egg to ensure the yolk cooks evenly. Carefully lift out the egg with a spatula and place it on a warmed plate, then fry the other egg. Keep the eggs warm while you cook the beef.
4	Add more oil – you’ll need about 4 tablespoons of oil all up in the wok. When the oil is hot, fry the garlic and chillies for a moment, but don’t let it colour. Add the beef and continue to stir-fry for a minute until just cooked. Season to taste with the fish sauce and sugar but be careful not to make it too salty.
5	Add the stock or water and simmer for a moment. Don’t let it boil or stew for too long, otherwise the meat will toughen and too much liquid will evaporate – there should be enough to form a sauce. Stir in the holy basil and as soon as it is wilted, remove from the heat. It should taste rich, hot, salty and spicy from the basil.
6	Serve on two plates with plenty of steamed jasmine rice, a fried egg on top and a bowl of chillies in fish sauce on the side.

 This recipe is from Thai Street Food by David Thompson, published by Penguin Lantern