Sunday Feast № 31 | Crispy Tilapia with Spicy Thai Basil Sauce

Ah dear Thai basil, you just keep on growing! Also, it is time to clean out the freezer from those frozen tilapia fillets (fresh is always nicer, but stocking food is a must). How can I marry you both? Thai basil meet tilapia fillets. Tilapia fillets meet Thai basil. And lets coax this relationship along with a dowry of matching staples. The recipe is from Sel et Sucre, and considering that I more often than not have non-panko bread crumbs (for such comforts as breaded pork cutlet), panko breading was a textural heaven for the mouth with that funky Thai basil sauce. Up for many returns. Thank you Thai basil!

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.