I’m back at it today with the Asian-inspired flavors. I always seem to lean that way in my recipes, but why would I use less flavor when I can fill my kitchen with the scent of ginger, garlic, and chilies?! Thai Basil Beef is one of my all-time favorite things to order for takeout. What I don’t love is when the vegetables are overcooked and the meat is tough…which happens a lot of the time, especially if the food steams in a to-go container. I wanted to recreate the flavors while ensuring the textures of the veggies are fresh and crisp-tender. So I’m taking on Thai-Inspired Basil Beef Stir Fry today—you’re not going to want to miss this one!
Which Pan to Use for a Stir Fry
The traditional pan to use for a stir fry is the wok. This allows you to cook food quickly and evenly with a rapid tossing motion. It also spreads out your ingredients over greater surface area so you’re not inadvertently steaming them. Remember, texture is key! I’m using my Black Cube, which is free of PFOA synthetical chemicals. It’s like a hybrid 2-in-1 pan: It cooks at really high heat (up to 500 degrees) for amazing browning, but has a non-stick layer that keeps the food and sauce from caking.
If you don’t have a wok, you can use the widest flat-bottom saute pan that you have with high sides. There is a lot of tossing/stirring food around during the recipe, and you want to keep it in the pan not on your stovetop!
Prep the Sauce and Ingredients for the Stir Fry
You can make the sauce ahead of time and store it in the fridge, which breaks up some of the prep time. The rest of the prep is mostly just chopping (good thing we just did a test to find some great ones).
The sauce is really flavorful and is gluten-free, which is sometimes harder to find out at restaurants. My recipe has coconut sugar (palm sugar is traditional but not as readily available), oyster sauce (I’m using Healthy Boy brand which is the only gluten-free one I’ve found that works well), fish sauce, lime juice, garlic, ginger, and white pepper. You just whisk those all together and add a little bit more lime juice and/or coconut sugar until the flavor is balanced out how you like it.
Slice the meat thinly against the grain (I’m using a tri-tip roast but you can use almost any cut of beef). No need to season it as the sauce adds all the flavors. Chop all of the vegetables for the stir fry and have them in separate bowls. I’m using shallots, green beans, shishito peppers, Thai chili peppers, mung bean sprouts, and tomatoes.
Tomatoes, you ask? My hometown has a Thai restaurant helmed by a Thai chef and he adds tomatoes in several of his stir frys, and I love what that did for the dish. His is one of the only places I’ve seen it. The tomatoes release their juices and melt down slightly to add this amazing natural sweetness and flavor. You gotta try it.
A note about the Thai chiles: I used 3 in this dish and it came out to about a medium spice level. You can use less or no chiles, or find a substituion down below.
Plus have a large handful of whole basil leaves ready—Thai basil if you can find it.
How to Make Thai-Inspired Basil Beef Stir Fry
Shop Chris’s Favorite Kitchen Tools
In case you skipped down to this section, I’m going to reiterate that the key to making a stir fry is to prepare all the meats, vegetables, and aromatics separately and have them ready to toss in. This dish cooks up quickly in just 10 minutes once everything is prepped, and you don’t want to be hovering over a cutting board at that point!
To start, heat your wok or similar pan to high heat. Add avocado oil to the pan and toss in the beef, give it a shake so every piece is touching the pan, and let it sit for about 30 seconds to get a good sear. Toss it around (I’m using a flat-bottomed wooden spatula) and let it sit again. Continue on for about 2-2.5 minutes, until the exterior is cooked but it’s not releasing too much moisture. Remove the beef to a platter.
Add more avocado oil and toss in the shallots and chilis. Toss around to coat. 15-30 seconds later, add in the green beans. Tossing every 30 seconds. After 2 minutes, add the shishito peppers. Stir and spread things out so they’re covering as much surface area to get contact with the pan and not steam. Stir again every 30 seconds for about another 1.5 minutes. Add in the bean sprouts, toss, and add in the tomatoes. Toss and/or stir pretty constantly at this point. After another 1.5 minutes, add the beef and pan juices back in and toss together. A minute later, add the sauce and let it reduce for another minute. Turn the heat off and add the basil leaves.
Shop The Kitchen
What to Serve with Thai-Inspired Basil Beef Stir Fry
I like to serve this with jasmine rice for its slightly sweet & nutty undertone, but you can use regular long-grain white rice or cauliflower rice. This dish is really popular in my house. It’s got incredible flavors, it’s easy to meal prep the day before and throw together after a long day.
This Thai Basil Stir Fry is easy to customize with whatever vegetables or meat you have. You can add in mushrooms, snow peas, bell peppers—anything that looks good at your grocery store or farmers market.
Need to Make a Substitution?
Coconut sugar: Don’t have coconut sugar? Regular white sugar will work just fine.
White pepper: Feel free to swap in black pepper if that’s all you have on hand. White pepper has a nice earthiness to it.
Beef: You could use chicken, pork or duck. Just cook for a couple extra minutes to ensure the meat is done all the way through.
Shallots: Sub in any color onion you have.
Shishito peppers: Swap in a bell pepper—red, orange or yellow would add some nice color.
Thai chili peppers: You can use 1/4 -1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes for each pepper, depending on your heat tolerance.
