Today I had a craving for something vaguely Thai. Actually it's been several days longing for that delicious sweet and sour satisfaction that can only come from good Thai dishes. Since I'm on a budget eating out wasn't an option. However I do have access to large quantities of basil and cilantro and I thought I could at least pick some and figure something out later on.
A bike ride and an hour later I had a bag filled with basil and a good handful of cilantro, some small Thai chilies, and a pantry just recently stocked with rice sticks. Well, it's a start... what else did I have? Oh! Some peanuts, oh and this locally raised grass fed beef patties that I need to cook. Let's see what else? If I'm doing something with cilantro and basil I really need some limes, but I was not willing to go out again to get some. The bottled lime juice came through in a pinch. Okay, I have a vague plan, let's see where it goes to.
I started out by grinding some peanuts, basil, cilantro, garlic, two chilies, canola oil, salt and pepper in a food processor. I did it in two stages: Stage one was more or less dry and I tool out about three tablespoons of that mixture, then added the oil. Gave it a whirl and a taste. Needed something tangy! In goes a good squirt of lime juice, some rice wine vinegar, and a small splash of soy sauce (next time I go to the store I'll replenish my stock of nam pla). Pureed until almost smooth and mixed in the reserved paste to get a chunky dressing. I added in a little sugar and more oil and gave it a good stir. It's not authentic, but it was pretty good!
While waiting for the water to boil for the noodles I chopped up a cucumber, a red bell pepper, some extra cilantro for garnish, and put the meat in the pan to sear. I'd never eaten grass fed beef before and I was interested to try it out. In the pan it smelled amazingly good... I'm guessing it was 85% beef and 15% fat judging by the grease in the pan. Even so, what would have normally produced a very tender juicy burger with traditionally raised beef presented me with a toothsome patty that I rather enjoyed. The beef had a stronger flavor that complimented the spicy dressing of the noodles and the cool crisp of the vegetables.
I tried to take a picture on my cameraphone but it came out horribly. And I was hungry so I inhaled the dish maybe a little quicker than most doctors would recommend. It was a dish that I sat back and admired and thought, "Wow, I made this??" It was delicious. It still needs work of course; fresh limes of course, maybe some fresh ginger in the dressing, bean sprouts, marinated beef instead of plain. There is something to be said for planning of course but that wasn't my intention today. I wanted to wing it and see what I could come up with and dang, it was pretty good.
I had no intentions of creating such a meal when I set out on my little bike ride this morning. All I had was a vague notion and the flexibility to make it up as I went along. It is a process I find very enjoyable (at least I find it enjoyable when what I make turns out okay :^) and I hope that a few readers will jump away from the cookbook, take a minute to think about all the things they know how to make, then open their eyes and their cupboards and trust their instincts*!
* This usually only applies to cooking. Baking requires measurements or else you end up with inedible paste rather than a loaf of bread :^)
