Friday, September 21, 2012

Thai Basil Pork and Vegetable Stir Fry

Yum
 When I am looking for a quick meal, stir fries are always my go to dish.  I can add a little protein and loads of vegetables to make a pretty filling meal for the entire family.  This time I used ground pork to make my stir fry. I love to use ground meat when I can because it cooks fast, you don’t have to worry about it being tender and I have no cutting to do so there is less cleaning up for me.  I used a mix of fresh and canned Asian vegetables to make this dish really special.  The star of the dish is the sweet and savory sauce with the fresh Thai basil leaves that I was lucky enough to grow in a pot on my deck. We were sitting down to eat this dish in less than 20 minutes.... gotta love a stir fry.

Ingredients:
1lb ground pork (or any lean ground meat of your choice)
1 medium onion sliced
1 Tbs grated ginger
1 Tbs grated garlic
red chili flakes to taste
2-3 carrots sliced
1 green bell pepper chopped
1-2 red sweet chilies chopped
1 can drained water chestnuts
1 can drained baby corn
1 can drained straw mushrooms
1 large handful of Thai Basil leaves (regular basil can be substituted)
salt and black pepper to taste

Note:  Any vegetables can be used in this stir fry. ie.. fresh mushrooms, cabbage,bamboo shoots.. etc...  these are just the vegetables I had in my house.

Sauce:
1-2 Tbs soy sauce (add more to taste)
1-2 Tbs fish sauce (add more to taste)
1-2 Tbs Chinese Rice wine (shaoxing wine) or dry sherry
1-2 Tbs hoisin sauce (to taste)
1/3 cup water
1 heaping Tbs corn starch 

Directions:
 Brown ground pork with one heaping Tbs of canola oil on high heat. Add ginger, garlic, salt and black pepper and brown with for another minute. Then add all raw vegetables and stir fry for a few minutes.  Next add canned vegetables and stir fry for another minute.

 Add sauce and cook for 3-5 minutes.  Taste for seasoning.  Add fresh basil leaves and cook for 1 more minute. Serve over rice.  Enjoy.
 





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