Thai basil beef stir-fry with carrots and rainbow chard in a coconut-aminos sauce

The 5 o'clock stretch before dinner is often the hardest part of a weeknight on this protocol, the stretch where you are hungriest and have the least patience for a recipe with a dozen steps. This stir-fry solves for exactly that: the beef sears in a couple of minutes, the vegetables go into the same hot pan, and the whole thing lands on the table before your patience runs out.

There's real zinc in a pound of grass-fed beef, and that mineral plays a real part in keeping a body's immune response calibrated and in how fast a stressed gut lining can knit itself back together. You don't have to think about any of that while you're slicing against the grain. It's simply there, working while you work.

Slice the steak thin against the grain and let that be where the animal gets its moment of attention, brief and real. Sear hot without crowding the pan, or the beef steams instead of browning. Fold the last handful of Thai basil in right at the end, off the heat, and let it wilt just barely from the pan's own warmth before you serve.

Ingredients

• 1 pound grass-fed boneless beef steak, cut 1/4 inch thick (flank, strip, or sirloin)
• Salt
• 2 tablespoons avocado oil, divided
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 6 small carrots, cut lengthwise into halves or quarters
• 1 bunch rainbow chard, leaves chopped and stems cut into 2 inch pieces
• 1/4 cup bone broth
• 2 tablespoons coconut aminos
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup Thai basil leaves, plus more for garnish

Method

Slice the steak thin against the grain and salt it lightly. Separate the chard stems from the leaves, since the stems need a head start.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the avocado oil in a large skillet or wok over high heat until shimmering. Sear the beef in a single layer, working in batches if the pan is crowded, just until browned. Move the beef to a plate.

Add the remaining tablespoon of oil. Cook the red onion, garlic, carrots, and chard stems until the carrots are crisp-tender, about 4 to 5 minutes. Stir in the chard leaves and let them wilt.

Pour in the bone broth, coconut aminos, and apple cider vinegar. Return the beef and its juices to the pan and toss everything together over high heat for a minute or two, until the sauce coats and reduces slightly. Turn off the heat and fold in the Thai basil so it wilts in the residual warmth. Garnish with more basil and serve.

*Adapted from gutsybynature.com*