Charred Chile-Rubbed Beef Skewers with Thai Basil Dipping Sauce
Quite possibly the best beef skewers you've ever had. We rub the beef with an intense, spicy-sweet marinade, and we keep it juicy and tender by just charring it on the grill. The citrus in the Thai basil dipping sauce tempers the heat of the skewers perfectly.
Ingredients
Thai Basil Oil
- 2 cups fresh Thai basil leaves
- ½ cup grape seed, corn, or other neutral oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
Dipping Sauce
- 1 egg yolk
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 teaspoon nam pla (Thai fish sauce)
- Salt
- 1 pound beef sirloin, cut into -inch-thick slices across the grain
- Bamboo skewers, soaked in water for 1 hour
- 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
- 3 fresh red Thai chiles, thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- 1½ teaspoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh orange zest, pith removed
- 1 small bunch (1½ ounces) fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon nam pla (Thai fish sauce)
- 1 teaspoon grape seed, corn, or other neutral oil
Instructions
Thai Basil Oil
- To make the oil: Fill a large bowl with water and ice and set aside. Bring a small pot of water to a boil and add the basil leaves. As soon as the water returns to a boil, transfer the leaves to the ice water. When cold, remove the basil leaves from the water and squeeze all the water out of the leaves with your hands. Put the basil in a blender with the oil and salt. Purée until smooth, then strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a small bowl.
Dipping Sauce
- To make the dipping sauce: Put the egg yolk, lime juice, nam pla, and ¼ cup water in a blender. Blend until smooth, then add the Thai basil oil in a slow, steady stream through the feed tube with the machine running. The mixture will emulsify into a mayonnaise. Taste and add salt if necessary.
- Thread the thin slices of beef onto the skewers, leaving 3 inches at one end. Start a charcoal or gas grill or broiler; the fire should be hot, and the grill rack should be about 4 inches from the heat source.
- Put the garlic, chiles, soy sauce, brown sugar, orange zest, cilantro, nam pla, and oil in a blender and purée until smooth. Transfer the marinade to a large shallow bowl. Dip the beef skewers in the marinade, evenly coating the beef, then transfer to the hot grill and cook until charred, 1 minute. Turn and char the other side, 1 minute, then serve immediately with the dipping sauce.