SavorySunday: Vegetarian Thai Basil Stir-fry

By Anastazja Kolodziej

For this week, I wanted to make a recipe that allows the Thai basil from our community garden plot to really shine. The best part of this stir-fry — which has the Thai basil as one of its main flavors — is that you can customize it as you wish. You can include other vegetables, add meat or tofu, or swap the rice for noodles! This recipe makes four servings.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 cups rice
• 2 green peppers, cut into strips
• 5 carrots, julienned
• 12 oz green beans 
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced 
• 1 cup Thai basil, loosely packed 
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp light brown sugar
• Water

Steps: 

• Cook rice according to package instructions.
• Warm a pan and add oil. When shimmering, add garlic. Once the garlic is fragrant, add carrots, peppers, and green beans.
• Meanwhile, combine soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, and water in a bowl to make the sauce. 
• When the vegetables are soft, add sauce to the pan and mix thoroughly. 
• Once the rice is done, add Thai basil to the stir-fry and let it wilt. Serve the meal with the rice on the bottom, topped with the stir-fried vegetables and sauce. 

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"Savory Sunday" is a weekly summer blog series with seasonal recipes from the garden.

About the Author:

 Anastazja Kolodziej is a rising senior at the University of Maryland, double majoring in multiplatform journalism and the classics (Ancient Greek and Latin). On campus, she serves as an assistant managing editor at The Diamondback.