If you are a fan of the Spicy Basil Dishes from Thai Restaurants then there is a good chance that you will enjoy this Beet Salad that taste similar to those dishes. It’s very easy to prepare. Just peel your beets toss them in a baking dish along with some ingredients. Cover the pan and it goes in the oven till the beets are tender. You remove the basil aromatics and add sliced shallots and radish to the contents…..Serve with fresh Thai Basil. I cut the beets and radish in a waffle cut but you can cut yours anyway you like. The flavors of this salad really are similar to spicy basil dishes. ….I do think that for some people this salad might not be sweet enough…..NO NO NO I take that back..The next day this salad is even better! It’s perfect! The flavors marry and balance even better. This is a very original recipe by me! I don’t think anyone else has a recipe out there like this for beets! Day one the flavors are different than day two. I thought day one the salad really popped with anchovies but after day one I didn’t think the anchovies worked for me…….so I took them out of the recipe.

Ingredients for about 8 servings

2 lbs beets – peeled

1 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 cup vegetable soup base

7 Thai Chili peppers – fine chopped

10 garlic cloves – ground to paste or microplane

3 Tablespoons + 2 teaspoons Golden Mountain Seasoning Sauce (Tuong Gia Vi) (It’s similar to soy sauce but taste better and I heard a Thai Chef say, “it’s the secret to everything Thai.” so that’s why it’s here.)

1 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar

1 1/2 cup water

3 branches fresh Thai Basil – to infuse flavor

7 oz shallots – sliced very thin on a mandolin

6 oz radish (preferably cut the same way you cut the beets)

3 branches of basil – just the leaves – to garnish plate

Directions

Set the oven to 350 degree f.

In a large baking dish add the peeled beets (you cut them after they’re cooked), sugar, soup base, chili, garlic, golden mountain seasoning sauce, rice wine vinegar, water and three branches fresh Thai Basil. Cover the pan and place in oven till beets are fork tender…(depending on size of beets this will be usually an hour or up to one hour and a half) (will be less time if beets are cut in half ((45 minutes – around hour))

Remove the basil branches and toss them in the trash. Add the radish and shallots to the pan or dish.

When the beets are cool enough to handle cut them in desired shape. Slices and waffle cuts work well here. Either add the beets back to the baking dish or a new dish that you want to store them in.

When ready to serve add some fresh Thai Basil.

Delicious! Taste like Spicy Basil Dishes!