This quick dinner using beef mince channelsThai chilli basilstir fry vibes (except, no basil!)
withpoke bowlversatility (except, no pricey raw fish!).
Jumble it all up and dig in!
Simple sweet chilli lime drizzle sauce really makes this!
But its not (at least, not to my knowledge).
I hope you love it!
Ingredients
Heres what you gotta make this.
Simple sweet chilli lime drizzle sauce really makes this!
NOTE: Theres a fair few repeat ingredients!
The sauces
Were making two sauces today one for cooking and one for drizzling.
Common ingredients, but they taste different because cooking the sauce changes the flavour it intensifies and caramelises.
On the other hand, the drizzle sauce is fresher.
Sweet chilli sauce Just your regular everyday sweet chilli sauce from regular grocery stores.
I use Trident which is a common brand here in Australia.
There is no need to hunt down a legit Asian brand (unless you want to!).
Fish sauce Stinky in the bottle but wonderful when cooked, cant taste fishiness at all!
You just end up with tasty savoury saltiness more interesting than salt, soy etc.
We also use it in the drizzle sauce but not very much.
b) just use soy instead.
Rice vinegar To balance out the sweet and savoury in the stir fry sauce.
Serve withjasmineor anyplain rice
Substitute with cider vinegar.
Lime juice I chose to use this for the drizzle sauce rather than vinegar because its fresher.
Its not a big deal, I promise.
Garlic For the drizzle sauce.
(We saute garlic for the beef).
PS With a fair few common ingredients, I thought I could make one double-duty sauce.
So sorry, you need two separate bowls!
The cashews and coriander/cilantro are for sprinkling and theres plenty of alternatives.
Beef mince Use any fat % you want.
The fattier it is, the stronger the beef flavour and the juicier the stir fry.
Other proteins I havent tried but Im confident this would be very tasty with chicken, turkey and pork.
Not convinced lamb works but I could easily be swayed.
Garlic and onion I challenge you to find a stir fry on my website that doesnt include these!
Cashews A good sprinkle of chopped toasted cashews is such a tasty finishing touch!
Elevates this from yum to I need seconds!.
Peanuts would work as well, or almonds.
For a no nut option, Id probably opt for crispy fried shallots (buy them).
Coriander/cilantro Lovely fresh touch.
Its served over rice, its got a sauce, and it works with raw or cooked vegetables.
Its pictured throughout this post with cucumbers and red onion tossed with coriander (keeping with the Thai vibes!
As for the rice Ive usedjasmine(on-theme for the Thai flavours) though anyplain riceor noodles will work.
Prevent screen from sleeping
How to make it
Dont skip toasting the cashews.
It really goes a long way to enhance the nut flavour!
Drizzle sauce Mix the ingredients in a small bowl.
Stir fry sauce And mix these ingredients in a separate bowl.
Chop Let them cool then roughly chop them so you have some larger pieces and some dust.
Sautethe onion and garlic for a minute until the onion is almost translucent.
(Were on high heat now, speed is our friend).
The onion will cook through more with the beef.
Dont skimp on this step as the caramelisation of the sauce on the beef is where the flavour is!
Juicy and tasty!Heres what it looks like.
The beef is a lovely rich brown colour but its still juicy thanks to the sweet chilli sauce.
Assemble bowls Spoon the beef over steaming rice.
Then its dinner time!
Eating etiquette
And finally, a very important matter the eating etiquette.
When its first placed in front of you, take a moment to admire it.
So pretty and colourful!
Then dive in and mix it all up.
If you are not flicking cashew bits and rice on the table, are you really living?
Embrace the chaos, because the better its jumbled, the more enjoyable every single bite will be.
Bring on the delicious mess!!
Nagi x
Thai sweet chilli beef bowls FAQ
Recipe testing rundown?
Not too much actually!
Made it once, found it a bit bland and not enough flavour once jumbled through the rice.
So I added the drizzle sauce and that worked a treat.
Its a pretty straightforward recipe compared to some!
How many times did you make it before publishing?
This was one of the fastest recipes Ive created in 2024!
As noted above, I made it once, thought it was tasty and I was happy with it.
So then I made it again to photograph it, and again to film it.
So a grand total of 3 times.
Thats the minimum for any recipe I share on my website.
Can I hide vegetables in the beef stir fry?
Yes you’re free to!
There is enough sauce add a carrot and zucchini, grated and cooked up with the beef.
Can I use other mince / ground meat?
I havent tried but confident its great with chicken, turkey and pork.
Not sure about lamb, its not a very common protein used in Thai cuisine.
I could be wrong drop a note if you try this with lamb!
What about sliced meat?
The recipe will definitely work but Im not exactly sure about the quantity.
But sometimes, you need more, to get a nice glaze on the surface!
I fully intend to do a sliced chicken version of this recipe early in 2025, so be patient!
Can I make this meat free with crumbled tofu?
But Im not exactly sure how much tofu is the right amount for the sauce.
Remember the drizzle sauce adds extra flavour too.
PS Use firm tofu as it will crumble up like mince.
When done right, its very tasty!
What else can I serve this with other than rice?
and even in soft white rolls or steamed Asian buns (bao buns!).
(Suggest using theChicken Banh Mifor inspiration).
Thankfully, it wasnt chemical fertiliser (which can be really toxic), just chicken poop.
Thank you againSASH(Dr Erin!
), for treating him!
