Thai Beef with Chiles...

I don't have a ton of experience cooking ethnic cuisine, though we are trying to incorporate it a bit more, which means I can't claim just how authentic recipes are when they fall into that realm. I do enjoy the process of trying them, if for no other reason than it pushes us and expands what we are willing to try, especially during the times we travel and are eating at restaurants. It gives us a small idea of what to expect at least!

Just like this Thai Beef with Chiles and Basil Over Coconut Rice we had for dinner tonight - I wouldn't know for certain if it was more of a technique or if the combination of ingredients is what made this recipe be labeled "Thai". It could also be overzealous labeling to make it sound fancy or complicated too... hee hee!

While the coconut rice follows the beef in the recipe title, we needed to get working on that before we started on the protein. You know how much of a fan I am of using the pasta method to cook rice (especially brown), however as this recipe calls for using coconut milk, cut with water, we went with the regular absorption method. There isn't anything to be scared about using this way to cook the rice though - the key I've found is to keep the temperature low enough that the rice has time to cook, yet not too high that the bottom dries out and burns. While the original recipe calls for cooking the aromatic jasmine rice on the heat for 25 minutes, I find we get better results, as we did tonight, by leaving the pot over the heat for 20 minutes, then turning the heat off and letting it sit, covered, for an extra ten minutes to gently steam the rice through.

A few red jalapeños, seeded and sliced into sticks, along with chopped garlic went into our trusty heated cast-iron skillet that was lined with just enough oil to cover the bottom. Just a few seconds later, their pungent aromas climbed up to my nose, letting me know it was time to slide in our protein of choice this evening, ground sirloin - however, think about using ground lamb, turkey or pork instead to look at this with a new light. Once you scatter the meat in the pan, try to resist diving right in with a spatula to break up the meat into crumbles. Since the skillet is pretty hot, give the meat a chance to actually begin to caramelize and gain that brown color, rather than smashing the juices out trying to get it into smaller pieces and end up with stewed meat with little developed flavor.

A combo of soy, fish sauce and a dash of sugar is then stirred into the mix to not only season the meat, but add some liquid to pull up any of those sought-after browned bits that stuck to the pan. We reserved a few of those jalapeño sticks and stirred them in at the end, along with a fistful of torn fresh basil. Scooped over a bed of the coconut rice, don't forget to add a wedge of lime on the side for each guest to squeeze a little tart note on top just before eating.

I wouldn't say Jeff was jumping for joy when he saw me bring out the can of coconut milk for this dish - it's not that he dislikes coconut, but for him, especially with the milk, he feels it can often overwhelm. Using it with the floral rice though seemed to strike a delicate balance and he quite enjoyed the fluffy combo! Neither of us found the juicy beef mixture overly spicy, but the flavor from the chiles was noticed and nice - however, I think we could have gotten away with leaving the seeds with one of the chiles to jack in a little extra bite!

Recipes
Thai Beef with Chiles and Basil Over Coconut Rice