Subject: [Thai] neua pad bai kaprao (beef and basil)

This is a quick and easy dish to make. The holy basil has a "hot peppery" taste, but if you can't get it then the standard european basil is a reasonable substitute, though you should add a little freshly ground black pepper in this case.

prik ki nu - called mouse dropping chilis, or dynamite chilis - are the best chili to use, but if you can't get it standard Mexican habanera chilis, or Scotch Bonnets, will do very well as a substitute.

(my wife chops the beef with a pair of cleavers, and I can't bear to watch... you can of course use a meat grinder or a food processor)

The garlic, shallots, peppers and peppercorns are ground together in a mortar & pestle or a food processor. In a hot wok, with a little cooking oil, briefly stir fry this paste to bring out the flavour and aroma. Add the remaining ingredients, except the onion, and continue to stir until the beef is cooked through.

Add the onions, mix thoroughly, and serve.

Serving: For luncheon pad bai kaprao can be served over plain rice, or over a fried egg or egg crepe, placed on the rice. For dinner it goes well with the hot and sour tom yum soups, as well as curries and other Thai food.

Add the usual Thai condiments (chilis in fish sauce (prik nam pla), ground chillis (prik phom) and sugar), as well, perhaps as ground black pepper.

Variants: It can be made with chopped pork or chicken, though of course the flavours are quite different. You can also experiment with replacing the meat with hard tofu marinated in a mixture of sweet soy, fish sauce and ground ginger, say, or a vegetable mix of your choice (I like to mix broccoli and cauliflower florets, with julienned carrots and wing beans), to make a vegetarian pad bai kaprao.

Chile-Heads Digest V3 #031

From the Chile-Heads recipe list. Downloaded from Glen's Mm Recipe Archive, http://www. Erols. Com/hosey.