Thai basil is a tender perennial herb that is typically grown as an annual in Central Texas.
Thai Basil is a pretty plant, too, with purple flowers and gorgeous green foliage. Its leaves are a little spicy with a mildly sweet undertone that some people compare to licorice. I agree that it does taste a little like licorice. Only better and not so, well, licoricey.
The plant itself is a summer plant and just does not tolerate chilly weather. At. All. Temperatures below 40 degrees will turn the leaves brown and ruin their culinary value, and even a light freeze under protection will likely be a death blow for this plant.
Because they are so frost tender, I’ve tried growing basils of all kinds in pots in order to enjoy the harvest all year long, but never had luck until I plated them in long planters. And, what do you know? They just needed more room for their roots! The long planter gives the roots much more room than a standard round container, and now all the basil plants are living happily ever after. Doesn’t that make you want to stretch your toes out? Ahhh…just needed a little space is all. I know what you mean, little basils!
So, what to do with all that Thai basil once it’s grown? I just clip off the tops and any seeds and flowers that I see. This prevents the plants from getting leggy (and gives me something to cook for dinner). Then, I take them inside and remove all the leaves from the stems, throw the leaves in the spinner and rinse and spin them. If I can’t use it right away, I just leave the leaves in the spinner and store it in the refrigerator for a day or two.
If I am good about keeping the basils separated, I’ll also save some seeds for the next planting. This isn’t always the case, though. For seed saving, the general rule of thumb is that the plants should be 30 feet away from each other to prevent cross pollination.
As for cooking, try this recipe. I think you’ll like it. Mister likes it a lot.
Do you have a thing for basils? Leave a comment to share your favorite basil growing and cooking tips.
PrintThai Basil Stir Fry
This versatile stir fry recipe is one of the primary reasons I grow Thai basil, and is based on the Mixed Vegetables, Thai-Style in Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Ingredients
1/2 cup or more Thai basil leaves
.5 lb onion, chopped
2 Tablespoons garlic, smashed and chopped finely
1 chili pepper, any type you have on hand, seeds removed and chopped finely *optional
1 pound vegetable, in this case Tatume Squash, peeled and cut into bitesized pieces.
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into bite-sized pieces *optional
1 cup coconut milk
1 Tablespoon peanut oil
1 Tablespoon Avocado oil
3 Thai Lime (Kaffir) leaves, chopped finely
3 Tablespoons Tamari or soy sauce
1 lime, for serving
Instructions
- Heat oil in large skillet over high flame. When pan and oil are very hot, add chicken and cook, stirring often, until chicken begins to brown. About 7 mintues.
- Add onion, garlic and chili and cook for about 5 minutes, until onion softens.
- Add squash, or other vegetable of choice and cook until it begins to soften (it needs to be a little undercooked at this step, so that you don’t end up with goopy, overlooked squash), about 5 minutes.
- Decrease heat to medium and add coconut milk and Thai lime leaves. Cook for about 5 minutes until broth is desired thickness.
- Remove from heat and add soy sauce and basil leaves.
- Serve with lime wedges.