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Thai Basil


snowangel

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My very close by Asian market always has tons of it, super cheap, and it always looks good, so I buy a big bunch.

I add it to curries, prik king, and a favorite dish of mine -- ground or minced pork, stir fried with a lot of garlic and chilis and enough basil that the basil is a focal ingredient, not just a bare flavouring.

What else should I be doing with this Thai basil beyond Thai cooking? BTW, I have successfully used it in a few Chinese recipes that call for purple perilla (which I can't get unless I grow it myself)?

Susan Fahning aka "snowangel"
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Spaghetti Alio Olio. NormallyBasil it's very easy to grow at home. Any potting mix ,airy evironment with at least 4 to 6 hours of sun will do.

my 2 cents

主泡一杯邀西方. 馥郁幽香而湧.三焦回转沁心房

"Inhale the aroma before tasting and drinking, savour the goodness from the heart "

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mash an entire bunch up with some smashed garlic add olive oil (about a cup) or a any kind of oil you would like ...salt ..some minced Thai bird chiles up ...squirt of lemon toss into cooked hot spaghetti

Edited by hummingbirdkiss (log)
why am I always at the bottom and why is everything so high? 

why must there be so little me and so much sky?

Piglet 

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pesto w/ garlic, ginger, sesame and sesame oil. I used lots of ginger. If you're not so keen on the sesame oil flavor, then use olive oil or something else you prefer.

Add to a vinagrette. Very nice on coleslaw made with napa cabbage and carrots.

Karen Dar Woon

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What else should I be doing with this Thai basil beyond Thai cooking?

It makes for a tasty ice cream. I'm using a Pacojet, but I presume it would come out good in a traditional freezer as well. I'm using about 20 grams per liter of base. Too much and it tastes like sweet frozen pesto :), but at the right amount it's a great flavor.

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  • 2 years later...

A friend ordered a half kilo off of Taobao; hoping he was getting sweet basil. No love; it was Thai, and now I'm the proud owner. I'm going to make some chicken with Thai basil to use some of it up, but I'm wondering how to keep the rest of it.

Ice cream is a no go, but I'm pretty sure I can get it past my husband again this week as spaghetti with Thai basil pesto. Any other suggestions for a longer term use?

And should I just wrap it in paper towel and plastic to keep, or is it okay to make a pesto a few days before I'm going to use it?

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I buy Thai basil at the farmers mkt and treat it like a bunch of flowers. For each branch, I strip off the bottom leaves (they only get mushy), cut off the tip of the stem at an angle with shears, and put the branch immediately into a vase of cold water. Keep the basil on the kitchen counter. I change the water in the vase once or twice a day. My Thai basil will last almost a week that way.

If you refrigerate any kind of basil, the leaves can turn black from the humidity and cold temp in the fridge.

Thai basil is pretty strong-flavored. I'm not sure I would like it in pesto--it would be too anise-y for me. I've made pesto with sweet basil a day or two ahead, kept it in a sealed container with a thin layer of olive oil on top. The surface will discolor slightly, but not the rest of the pesto.

With all that Thai basil, you could do some great stirfries this week with pork, shrimp, mussels, fish, or eggplant. How about a curry? The Cradle of Flavor cookbook has some good recipes using Thai basil, too.

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How about fried basil leaves? You can dust them with flour and then fry, or just toss them unadorned into hot oil:

Then sprinkle with a little salt.

They're great for garnishes, or just for snacks.

I don't understand why rappers have to hunch over while they stomp around the stage hollering.  It hurts my back to watch them. On the other hand, I've been thinking that perhaps I should start a rap group here at the Old Folks' Home.  Most of us already walk like that.

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With all that Thai basil, you could do some great stirfries this week with pork, shrimp, mussels, fish, or eggplant. How about a curry? The Cradle of Flavor cookbook has some good recipes using Thai basil, too.

I've actually got a pan of rendang on right now; a bit of serendipity brought a nice beef rib joint, galangal, and the Thai basil all into my happy possession from three different directions.

if I don't do chicken with Thai basil tonight, I may fry up some pork, chilis, garlic, lime, fish sauce and basil leaves, to be wrapped up with lettuce.

How about fried basil leaves? You can dust them with flour and then fry, or just toss them unadorned into hot oil: Fried Basil Leaves

Sorry, Jaymes, YouTube won't load in China. Do I just make sure the leaves are well dried and fry in peanut or other oil? These would be gorgeous sprinkled over plain white rice...

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