Harvesting & Using Fresh Basil


Many people ask why they should grow basil. There are a lot of good reasons. Many people add crushed basil to olive oil, garlic and salt to make fresh pesto. Basil is used in a lot of delicious Italian dishes. However, I've been making Thai food with my fresh basil.

Basil doesn't need much light. I grow eight hydroponic basil plants in a sunny indoor window. I harvest one plant every week and plant another. The EZ Ebb & Flow hydroponics system makes it very easy. I have fresh basil when I want it, and it's almost free.

There are many different varieties of basil. So far, I've grown the old standby, Sweet Basil. Soon, I'd like to try Genovese (Italian) Basil, Thai Basil, Lemon Basil and Cinnamon Basil.

My favorite basil dish is Thai Vegatables. It's not an authentic Thai dish, but it's somewhat reminiscent of Red Pad Ped. My generic Thai Vegetable dish is very easy to make, and uses no unobtainable ingredients. Only a couple of the ingredients aren't found in most western kitchens. They're readily available at any decent grocery store, and they have virtually unlimited shelf life. That way, whenever you're in a Thai mood, grab a bunch of basil and 35 minutes later you're eating healthy, low fat Thai Vegetables.

The basil has been growing for 6-8 weeks. It was started in a 1” X 1” X 1.5 inch deep rock wool starter cube. The root ball is pulled out of the planter box to make room for the next basil seed in its rock wool cube. The root ball is not much larger than the rock wool cube.



The basil plant is rinsed and ready to use. No pesticides were used, and the plant was grown entirely indoors, so a light rinsing is all that's needed.

Yes, all that basil is going into four large servings of Thai Vegetables.



The leaves are separated from the stems and the stems are discarded.



The leaves are coarsely chopped.



The chopped basil leaves are added to whatever vegetables you like for a spicy Thai Vegetable dish. In this case, I used frozen peas, an onion, a couple of small green peppers, several cloves of crushed garlic, and some fake chicken strips made from soy protein.

This isn't an authentic recipe, so feel free to use any vegetables that you like. You can use chicken, beef, pork, tofu, or just plain vegetables. You might also want to use mushrooms or celery.

Stir fry the vegetables in 1-2 tablespoons of vegetable oil. I used one tablespoon of canola oil.



When the vegetables start to soften and brown just a bit, add a can of coconut milk, half a teaspoon of red curry paste and a tablespoon or two of soy sauce to taste. The coconut milk adds a sweet taste, the curry paste makes it spicy, and the soy sauce adds a savory saltiness to the dish.

Make sure you buy a Thai curry paste (red or green), and not an Indian curry paste. They have different ingredients, even though they're both called curry paste.

I like the flavor of Kikoman brand soy sauce better than La Choy. There are also true Asian brands, but some of them contain trace amounts of a known carcinogen used in the fermentation process. I don't want to think about that while I'm eating.



Simmer for a few minutes to allow the flavors to mingle. The result should be similar to a soup. It isn't thickened with corn starch like Chinese food.



Serve over a bed of rice. The thin liquid is absorbed by the rice.

Enjoy!



Rice Tip: There's a huge difference in rice. I highly recommend a good quality Basmati rice. The rice in grocery stores is barely good enough to stuff bean bag toys. An Indian or Asian food store will have good long grain rice. Buy in bulk and it's less expensive than the cheapest gummy grocery store rice. To cook, simply add two cups of water, a cup of rice and half a teaspoon of salt in a sauce pan. Heat until almost boiling, turn off the heat and cover the pot to steam. After 20-30 minutes, the rice will be tender all the way through, light, and fluffy. It's hard to mess up good rice, and there's no good way to prepare bad rice.