Spicy Beef Stir-Fry With Basil Recipe (2024)

I was so excited to click on the link to add the ingredients to my weekly grocery list. Only to be disappointed once again at the complexity of the ingredients. I'm sure these exotic ingredients are easy to find in LA or NYC, but how about some recipes for those of us in the vast country between the coasts!? :-)

Some of the ingredients are difficult to find for those of us who don't have access to a Thai grocery.Substitutions:Lard- use a neutral oil (see ingredients). What's a neutral oil? Try canola (Non-GMO) or grapeseed. Both available at any grocery worth shopping at.Holy-basil: it's very mild so use regular basil but maybe a little less with just a touch of mint.Makrut lime leaves: order some online. Don't want to wait? Try 1/2 a small bay leaf and 1/4 tsp of lime zest.

Does holy basil refer to the herb Tulsi? And are "makrut lime" leaves the same as kaffir lime?

I live in the boonies where there is one kind of Basil in the store - just plain old Basil - will that do? I know I can grow it but not by tomorrow!

Yes. At Wholefoods, they are labeled “Markut” leaves, as “kefir” is apparently ethnically insensitive.

Just made this for the first time tonight--excellent. No need to spend $30/pound on beef tenderloin, though. This recipe with skirt/flank steak would be just as delicious at a fraction of the price.

Huge flavor, super easy and quick - used ghee instead of lard. Fried egg on top was delicious.

You can just skip it. We, Thais normally don’t put kafir lime leave in this dish.

This was good. I didn't have the special basil so I just used regular basil from the store. I know it's not as sharp but overall it was still very satisfying. Good amount of spice.I recommend splashing the rice with rice vinegar (just a few drops!) before serving. It gives the whole dish together some brightness.Increase the crunch factor here by topping with roasted crushed peanuts.

Amazingly, if you try at all you CAN find things to substitute for the items you cannot find. But I guess whinging about it is more fun.

This is our new favourite NYTCooking recipe. Butcher gave us aged tenderloin, used wok to cook, added garlic and chilies after not before, fresh makrut/kaffir leaves - fabulous. Try this recipe!!!

Yep, they are the same in both instnaces, though each comes with its own caveat. Holy basil, which is quite different from Thai basil, tends to wilt quickly once picked, so is often hard to find. As my British spouse explained that other lime name is a not-so-nice Colonial term picked up during the Boer War. That bit aside the leaves do freeze well, and the trees are easy enough to grow indoors. Just do not have your heart set on getting limes out of the deal, that is a bit more involved.

Loosen up people, just because you can't buy this or that don't let it stop you. Experiment, improvise, have fun, invent a new dish. Scallions and ginger, how can you miss? And in case you missed it regular basil is okay, the dish just gets a slightly different name.

I live in central Ohio and have no trouble finding these ingredients. Larger cities everywhere in the US now have many dozens of international, Chinese, Japanese, African, middle eastern, southeast Asian, Caribbean, Indian, Latin American, and many other kinds of markets just as there are here. They are my favorite places to shop. I bet if you explore (and are willing to add to your weekly grocery shopping trip to an ordinary supermarket) you will make some great discoveries in your city, too.

Could the food editor please establish a policy of consistency to ingredient names? This recipe calls for makrut lime leaves which are also called Kaffir lime which are leaves of the Citrus hystrix. There are even more regional names in the region.

This was delish. I would recommend corn starch to thicken the sauce. Also used double the basil.

Make it and don’t change a thing! Simple and delicious prep for what my neighborhood is $50 worth of tenderloin!

Velvetted flank steak Doubled sauce Used little food processor for garlic & 5 Thai Chile’s

Accidental bliss.Took a pork roast out...We proceeded with this recipe; our palettes were dazzled with refreshing bites of hmmmmmmm.

Instead of making my own garlic-chili sauce I grated a half dozen cloves of garlic and mixed it with Sambal Olek—which is Asian crushed pepper sauce available in almost any supermarket. No mortar or food processor needed and quicker. I also added some sliced onion. Dish was good with Thai Basil.

What can be substituted for lime leaves? I don't have any.

Very good. I ordered the thin soy sauce and Thai oyster sauce online and used high-quality dried kaffir lime leaves bought at a Thai market. The taste of holy basil is too medicinal for me. So I used the type of Thai basil (with the small leaves) more commonly found in grocery stores. I liked the texture of the tenderloin but other cuts would probably work well, as several reviewers have noted. Used avocado oil; next time I’ll try lard or ghee.

I added some ginger and only used one chile, to accomodate household members who don't like spice. I used the zest of a regular lime instead of the lime leaves, and used Thai basil instead of holy-basil. I also doubled the sauce so there would be enough when I added some wilted bokchoy at the end. This was delicious! I'd totally make it again. And I didn't worry about searching out esoteric ingredients that I'd use once and never need again.

Clearly I didn’t add all the ingredients to my shopping list. Forgot the peppers and lime leaves. I keep some Szechuan paste on hand so subbed that for the peppers. Fried some eggs in the leftover oil, used regular basil, and roasted some broccoli for on top. Definitely not the same dish but that’s the beauty of stir fry, lots of room for improvising.

This was good. I didn't have the special basil so I just used regular basil from the store. I know it's not as sharp but overall it was still very satisfying. Good amount of spice.I recommend splashing the rice with rice vinegar (just a few drops!) before serving. It gives the whole dish together some brightness.Increase the crunch factor here by topping with roasted crushed peanuts.

really good! usually when i attempt thai or chinese at home it always seems simple but doesn't turn out that way. but this is truly as quick and simple as it seems, just make sure to get your ingredients together before you cook. i used regular soy sauce, thai basil from my kitchen plant, and steak tips (not to be confused with tip steak) - easily sliced into thin bite size pieces while frozen. i used 5 red bird's eye chiles and it had a nice heat to it without being overpowering. 1/2

2/2 additionally, i threw in a bunch of scallions sliced into one inch lengths on the bias with the beef. served over coconut rice. i can actually get all of the ingredients at market basket, a decidedly un-fancy chain grocery store in the northeast. both the lime leaves and the chiles are sold in bulk but freeze well. (remove the stems of the chiles by hand first - do not cut off the tops with a knife.) alternately, amazon and ebay are great, easy, affordable options.

Try lime zestUsed 1 habanero and 3 Serrano. Super hot but Mark liked it.

Pretty flavorful recipe! I added a little bit of sesame oil, thinly sliced broccoli, and onion. Before serving I mixed 2 teaspoons of corn starch with a tablespoon of water in a bowl and added to the pan to thicken the sauce. The kaffir lime leaves add a lot of flavor to the dish if you can find them.

Loosen up people, just because you can't buy this or that don't let it stop you. Experiment, improvise, have fun, invent a new dish. Scallions and ginger, how can you miss? And in case you missed it regular basil is okay, the dish just gets a slightly different name.