Sunday Feast № 17 | Abundance of Thai basil leads to one thing

Construction got in the way of nature, so I invested in technology to bring the nature back. Then nature forced my hand by thriving.    In plain words: I have a kitchen window facing east, which for quite some time faced an empty lot. The lot is a bit over 250 ft deep, so every morning sunrise streamed in to wake me up before coffee. Then over a year ago construction began. Now, the kitchen window faces grey walls. No sunrise and less light till the sun is high, provided there are no clouds. The new conditions are hardly ideal for growing herbs. Ah the joys of city living. When I buy fresh herbs, I hardly ever seem to use the entire package till they start to wilt ever so slightly forcing me to dry the excess and defeating the very reason I bough them. I decided to look for options. What I needed is a source of sunlight, and luckily there are compact indoor gardens that are hydroponic units, taking out any guess work regarding watering - there is always water in lieu of soil, with LEDs. Double BINGO!
	I chose one that came with a box of six seed pods: Genovese basil, Thai basil, cilantro, dill, mint and curly parsley. Thai basil was first to sprout and grow - abundantly, with the other five playing catch up. It was time to harvest it, so it did not obstruct the light from reaching the cilantro and mint close by. After collecting the next two handfuls, I started to look for recipes, after all the reason for having fresh herbs is to use them fresh, and since Thai basil was plentiful - Thai it was!    This recipe from “The Food of Thailand: A Journey for Food Lovers” is so easy and fast to make, and so tasty, it is almost embarrassing, but it is what I love about Thai food. It can be simple, meaning few ingredients, thus often requiring fresh ingredients, much like Italian, that are cooked quickly to preserve their freshness. More so, Thai basil can withstand heat of stir frying, perking up with its anise spice the funkiness of fish and oyster sauces glossing over the spiciness of beef fried with garlic and chili. Add rice and crisp vegetables and you will have a quick feast.

Beef with Thai Basil
1 tbsp fish sauce 3 tbsp oyster sauce 4 tbsp water ½ tsp sugar 2-4 garlic cloves finely chopped 3 Thai chilies crushed with the side of a knife or a cleaver ~500 g/1 lb 2 oz beef steak finely sliced 1 medium onion cut into thin wedges 2 handfuls of fresh Thai basil leaves	Mix the fish sauce, oyster sauce, water and sugar in a small bowl. Heat the oil in a wok and stir fry half the garlic over a medium heat until light brown. Add half of the crushed chilies and half of the meat and stir fry over a high heat for 2-3 min or until the meat is cooked. Remove from the wok and repeat with the remaining garlic, chilies and meat. Return all the meat, garlic and chilies to the wok. Add the onion and the fish-oyster sauce mixture and stir fry for another minute or so. Add the basil leaves and stir fry until the leaves begin to wilt. Taste and adjust seasoning if desired.
Servers 3-4