Basil Thai Chili Beef with Whole Wheat Spinach Noodles

About a month ago I discovered a Chicken and Chili with Basil recipe that I wanted to try out.  The combination of the basil, chili and chicken was fantastic! I loved the mixing of flavours and the aroma of the basil.  Delish!

Today I decided to fool around with the recipe and swap the chicken for shredded beef and add noodles.  Here is my adapted recipe:

Basil Thai Chili Beef with Whole Wheat Spinach Noodles

1/2 pound of uncooked shredded beef ( I used the shawarma beef that you can get at halal meat stores, and I rinsed off the spices the beef was marinated in)

2 tbsp ginger paste

1 tbsp garlic paste
6 large button mushrooms, washed and sliced

1 jalapeno pepper, washed and diced ( you can substitute in 1 or 2 Thai chili if you like)

2 green onions, washed and chopped

1 cup of julienned carrots (shredded works too)

juice of one lime

1 tsp salt (then to taste)

1 tbsp olive oil + 2 tbsp water for stir frying (adding water prevents the oil from burning)

1 tsp fish sauce
8-10 basil leaves, roughly chopped

2 tsp sesame oil

chili flakes (to your taste)

Wash beef and strain off water.  Mix with ginger and garlic pastes, and salt.

In a wok, add oil and water. Add beef as the wok heats up (prevents water from splashing up)

Cook beef until it's just about done and add the jalapeno, chili flakes, basil, fish sauce and sesame oil.  Continue to stir fry. 

 Add in vegetables until cooked through.  Taste the stir fry and adjust salt and chili accordingly.

Noodles- follow instructions on package

I went looking for soba noodles at Walmart, but I came back with whole wheat spinach noodles instead.  When I opened the package, I thought I would grab a bunch of dry noodles and add them to the pot of boiling water. Instead, I found pre-made noodle packs inside. I have never seen noodles packaged this way before.