Thai Turkey Basil

I had ground turkey in the fridge that needed to be used up, so I asked my husband this morning...."Would you like meatloaf or meatballs for dinner?" He was nice about it, but I could tell he was tired of both. And then I thought to myself..."I can do better" and then "OOOOooooh, I have a whole bunch of basil waiting to be used!"

Not sure if this is really a "Thai" dish, but I'm the blogger and I'll name it what I want, dammit. It reminds me of a food demonstration I saw in Santa Barbara from the owner of the Coleman Family Farm, called "Cambodian Style Pork with Chilies and Two Basils", which used a mushroom soy sauce and 2 types of basil. Yum!

I encourage you to add more veggies to this dish...bell peppers, zucchini, mushrooms - whatever you have. A little grated ginger would be nice too. The only produce I had left were 3 measly carrots and an onion. I'd better go shopping so I don't have to crack open that frozen bag of peas that's been in the freezer for months. Eek.

I would start the rice right before you begin this dish...it takes about 20 minutes total.

1 T. olive oil
1 package ground turkey
2 t. minced garlic
1 T. 1 chopped onion
3 carrots, sliced on diagonal
3 T. soy sauce
1 T. fish sauce
1/3 cup water
1 T. brown sugar
1 -2 tsp. sriracha sauce (or minced thai chiles)
squeeze of lime
cornstarch slurry
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 cup roughly chopped basil

In a large skillet, brown the turkey in olive oil, adding onion and carrots in after the first couple of minutes. When the turkey seems about done, add the garlic and stir for another minute. Drain off the turkey liquid. Add soy, fish sauce, water, brown sugar, lime juice, hot sauce or chiles. Stir until all mixed up. Taste sauce and adjust the seasonings until you like it. Add a tablespoon or two of the cornstarch slurry and let simmer until thickened. Stir in cilantro and basil until wilted. Serve over hot rice.