MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06
 
      Title: Beef Stir Fried with Holy Basil
 Categories: Thai, Beef, Chilies, Herbs
      Yield: 4 Servings
 
      2 tb Chopped garlic
      2 tb Chopped shallots
      2 tb Chopped mixed red & green
           -chilies (prik ki nu)
      1 ts Green peppercorns; whole
    1/4 c  Fish sauce
      2 tb Palm sugar
      1 c  Coarsely chopped holy basil
           -leaves (bai gaprao)
      1 c  Sliced onion (any mixture of
           -Spanish onions; red onions;
           -shallots and spring onions
      1 lb Ground or minced beef

  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 chilies, or dynamite chilies -
  are the best chili to use, but if you can't get it standard
  Mexican habanero chilies, 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 (chilies 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.
  
  From: Colonel I. F. K. Philpott  To: CHILE-HEADS-L
 
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