This recipe from Half Baked Harvest cooks in minutes, once you have assembled all your ingredients. Make the sauce, then add beef and peppers. Add seasoning and cooked noodles. Add the fresh herbs and green onions and serve topped with more green onions, sesame seeds, lime juice and nuts. Cook’s note: I cooked the noodles in boiling water until tender. I did not use lemongrass paste or sesame seeds. I had some asparagus, so cooked it along with the peppers. I used chopped fresh ginger instead of pickled ginger and cashews instead of peanuts.

Avoiding Additives and Preservatives

I used tamari, Nature Value sriracha, Cock brand fish sauce, Marukan rice vinegar, Lee Kum Kee sesame oil and butter that contained only cream, with no colour added. Check the dried spices, sesame seeds and nuts to make sure they don’t contain additives.

Assemble all your ingredients before starting to cook

Thai basil beef noodles

Ingredients:

6 ounces (170 g) pad thai/wide rice noodles

1/3 cup (82 ml) tamari or soy sauce

¼ cup (60 ml) Thai chili sauce

2 tablespoons (30 ml) fish sauce

2 tablespoons(30 ml) rice vinegar

1 tablespoon (15 ml) lemongrass paste (optional)

Black pepper and chili flakes

3 tablespoons (45 ml) sesame oil (or olive oil)

1 pound (454 g) flank steak, thinly sliced

2 bell peppers, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons (30 ml) butter, sliced

1 shallot, sliced

4-6 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tablespoon (15 ml) chopped pickled ginger

½ cup (125 ml) chopped cilantro or Thai basil

4 green onions, chopped

¼ cup (60 ml) sesame seeds

1/3 cup (82 ml) roasted peanuts, chopped

Preparation:

Soak the rice noodles according to package directions, then drain.

To make the sauce. In a bowl, combine the tamari/soy sauce, Thai chili sauce, fish sauce, rice vinegar, lemongrass, black pepper, and chili flakes.

Add the oil, beef, and bell peppers to a large skillet set over medium heat. Cook until the beef becomes crispy, about 5 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon (15 ml) butter, the shallot, 3 cloves garlic, ginger, and a pinch of chili flakes. Continue to cook the beef in the butter until the garlic begins to turn golden, 1-2 minutes.

Add the noodles and sauce, tossing to combine. Cook until the noodles are warmed through and begin soaking up the sauce, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat. Add the cilantro/basil, and green onions, and toss again.

Heat 1 tablespoon (15 ml) of butter, 1 clove of garlic, and the sesame seeds in a small skillet. Cook until toasted, 5 minutes.

Serve the noodles topped with green onions, peanuts, and garlicky sesame seeds. Add a squeeze of lime juice. Serves 4.

From Half Baked Harvest