Weekend Recipe 3/7/09

Well now, I seemed to have missed a weekend, so today and tomorrow I will provide a recipe. This first recipe tonight is one from a new book I recently bought. It's called How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. At over 1,000 pages, and 2,000 recipes, variations, and techniques (many with handy illustrations), it is extremely useful. I would highly recommend picking up a copy to anyone who views cooking as more than just a means to feed oneself. If you have a passion for food, like I do, look it up the next time you're in a book store. The recipe is "Stir-Fried Spicy Beef with Basil." I haven't tried it out yet, having picked up the book yesterday, but I certainly intend to shortly:

Stir-Fried Spicy Beef with Basil
Makes: 4 to 6 servings
Time: 15 minutes, plus time to freeze or marinate the meat

Once you get this Thai-style dish set up, it's faster than cooking the rice that goes alongside it. You can use round or chuck meat here, but the best cuts are flank or sirloin, which are more tender and equally tasty. Thai basil is nice here if you can find it, but any fresh basil is fine. Other cuts and meats you can use: pork, preferably from the shoulder or leg (fresh ham); lamb, preferably from the shoulder or leg; boneless chicken.

1.5 pounds flank or sirloin steak
.5 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves
1 tablespoon peanut oil, plus 1 teaspoon for marinating
1.5 tablespoons minced garlic
.25 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon soy sauce or nam pla (Thai fish sauce)
Juice of half a lime

1) Slice the beef across the grain as thinly as you can; it's easier if you freeze it for 15 to 30 minutes first. Cut the slices into bite-sized pieces.

2) Wash and dry the basil; if the leaves are large, chop them coarsely. If time permits, mix the beef, basil, and the teaspoon of peanut oil in a bowl, cover, and refrigerate for an hour or so (this helps the flavor of the basil permeate the meat).

3) When you're ready to cook, have all the ingredients ready (including a serving dish and rice, if you're making any). If you have not yet done so, mix together the beef and basil. Heat a large skillet over high heat until it smokes, 3 or 4 minutes.

4) Lower the heat to medium and add the tablespoon of peanut oil. Swirl it around and add the garlic. Stir once or twice. As soon as the garlic begins to color - after about 15 seconds - return the heat to high and add the beef-basil mixture. Stir quickly and add the red pepper. Stir frequently (but not constantly), just until the meat loses its red color, and minute or two longer. Add the soy sauce and lime
juice, stir, turn off the heat and serve immediately, over rice if you wish.

How to Cook Everything was copywrited in 2008 by Doubly B Publishing Inc., and published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. in Hoboken, New Jersey. This representation of the text is intended for educational use only.