Pumpkin with Minced Meat and Basil

Last Friday my partner took me to a Thai restaurant for dinner. It was our first time there and as usual he left the ordering to me. "My boss", he pointed to me when the waitress approached. He always does that.

I took a while to go through the menu and I spotted a dish called Chicken with Basil. That would be nice, I thought and ordered it together with another 3 dishes. Sorry, I don't have any pictures of our meal. I still find it awkward to take photos in the restaurant. Paiseh (embarrassed).

When the chicken came, it turned out to be minced chicken (not so exciting to me). I thought that it would be chicken pieces (something like Three Cup Chicken). Oh well, too late. But when I had my first taste, it was very good. And I was suddenly reminded of Baby Sumo's Stir Fried Minced Pork with Thai Basil. My partner seemed to enjoy the dish and he commented that the basil was very fragrant. I agreed. And I thought to myself that I could cook this at home.

I had minced pork in the freezer and basil in the garden. And because I had some pumpkin in the fridge, I decided to incorporate it into the dish as well. It was a great way to clear my fridge :) I was too lazy to go upstairs to check Yen's recipe and I reckon that fish sauce and light soya sauce can't go wrong. 

My dish came quite close and I was happy. With the addition of pumpkin, this made for a substantial side dish. I was very pleased that the "not so exciting minced chicken" led to this discovery!

Pumpkin with Minced Meat and Basil

Recipe source : Phong Hong

Ingredients :

- 600g pumpkin, cut into cubes

- 200g minced meat

- 1 big onion, finely diced

- 4 cloves garlic, finely minced

- 2 tablespoon fish sauce

- 1 tablespoon light soya sauce

- 1 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce (because I prefer the vegetarian version)

- 1 tsp dark caramel sauce

- a handful of Thai basil leaves

-  some water

- pepper to taste

- 1 teaspoon tapioca flour (or cornflour) mixed with two tablespoon of water 

Method :

1. Heat oil in wok and saute minced onions until soft and translucent.

2. Add garlic and fry until lightly browned.

3. Add minced meat and stir fry until the color turns opaque.

5. Add fish sauce, oyster sauce and caramel sauce and stir.

6. Add pumpkins and stir to mix with the sauce and other ingredients.

7. Add some water and cover the dish and simmer, stirring every now and then until pumpkin is tender.

8. If there is still some gravy in the wok, thicken with the tapioca mixture.

9. Serve immediately.