Cooking shows are a form of porn, as many of us know. The beautiful colors and textures, the close-ups of sizzling garlic, the slow motion hand washing with fuzzy background music. A week or so ago, Rick and I were wasting time that should have been spent on household chores watching Everyday Food, a Martha Stewart production on PBS.
One of the chefs was making a Thai beef dish with ground beef that was served on coconut rice. The recipe looked a bit mediocre to me but Rick was intrigued so I made a note to get the ingredients and make it soon. The recipe contains all the ingredients you'd expect to see in Thai cooking: coconut milk, fish sauce, jasmine rice and lime.
I was a bit worried that the jasmine rice, cooking for 30 minutes in coconut milk, would taste more like rice pudding than a foundation for the spicy beef. I was wrong. Although I can't say I would eat the rice alone, it made a creamy base for the warm, spicy beef.
Here's the full recipe:
1 1/4 c. jasmine rice
1 can (13.5 oz) coconut milk (I used lite)
coarse salt
2 T, plus 1 teaspoon fish sauce
2 T. plus 1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1 T. vegetable oil
3 garlic cloves, chopped
3 long, hot peppers, or red jalapeno chiles, seeded and sliced into 2 inch matchsticks
1 1/4 lbs ground beef
1 c. coarsely packed torn fresh basil leaves
1. In a medium saucepan, combine the rice, coconut milk, 3/4 c 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 is absorbed, about 25 minutes.
2. When rice is almost done, combine the fish sauce, soy sauce, and sugar in a small bowl, set aside. Heat a cast iron skillet or wok over high heat. 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 with lime wedges.
Serves 6
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