Beef Basil Fried Rice

When cooking rice for meals, I’ve always stayed on the greedier side. That is, cooking more rice and then figuring out what to do with the leftovers. You see, I scarf the stuff down like there’s no tomorrow (just a little soy/sugar or rice seasoning and that can be a meal!) but lately I’ve been trying to do a little bit more portion control. Now that hasn’t stopped me from cooking too much rice, now I just have to figure out something to do with it afterward.

Usually I just cook something else and heat up the leftovers but one thing I try my hand at from time to time is fried rice. Again, one of the most important steps is to refrigerate the rice, overnight would be best. Still, I have a habit of overcooking the leftover rice in the pan but my technique has gotten better. You really only need to warm the rice up and toss it around for about a minute to break up the rice clumps and to mix everything together. More to the point, the rice and sauce go in after everything else is cooked. And remember, don’t overfill the pan!

I found a great recipe at Jam’s Thai Food a little while back and since it looked tasty, I decided to give it the ole good faith effort. Ended up using a little bit more sauce mix because I had so much rice and a pound of beef to use, it wound up a little salty but that was alright, I don’t mind it being that way. Thanks Jam!

Beef Basil Fried Rice

Time: 10 – 15 minutes
Serves : 4 – 6

Recipe adapted from Jam’s Thai Food

Ingredients:
– 2 – 3 qts of cooked rice, refrigerated overnight
– 3/4 to 1 lb Beef, sliced (Or Chicken, Pork, shrimps, or a combo)
– 1/2 red bell pepper, sliced thin
– 1/2 medium onion, chopped
– 2 – 3 tbsp fish sauce
– 3 – 4 tbsp soy sauce
– 1 tbsp sugar
– 1 – 1 1/2 cups Fresh Thai Basil leaves, washed
– 3 – 4 Thai Chillies, minced
– 1 shallot, minced
– 3 – 4 cloves garlic, minced
– A little soy sauce and cornstarch, for marinating (3-4 tbsp soy sauce w/ 1 tbsp starch)
Method:
1. Marinate the beef in some soy sauce and cornstarch for about 15-30 minutes.
2. Mix the Chillies, shallots, and garlic together. If you have a food processor, you can put the mix through to make a paste.
3. Heat a frying pan or wok over medium heat. Add some vegetable oil and then the paste. Stir and let cook for 30 seconds.
4. Add the beef into the pan with a small dash of fish sauce and soy sauce. This will give the meat a little bit more flavor. Stir fry about a minute.
5. Add in the pepper and onions, stir fry another minute or so until the beef is cooked.
6. Add the rice in along with the rest of the sauce (fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar). Mix well and stir fry for about a minute.
7. Add in the basil leaves, stir fry another minute and then serve with fried eggs (however you like your eggs is fine)