Cha Kroeung Sach Mourn
Prep Time
Cook Time
Total Time
Cha Kroeung Sach Mourn or as my friend Ves translated it..."Sach Mourn is essentially Beef, and Cha is Stir Fry. Kroeung is the paste mixture(which I will teach you to make below). He calls it Lemongrass Beef Stir Fry." Let me start out by introducing Ves. Ves was the 2nd employee on the Not So Fast! Food Truck and was a true rockstar! Within a few months, he was cooking all of the food to perfection, researched the Paleo/Primal lifestyle, and took on managerial duties. Both Ves and his wife, Cindy, got a chance to work on the truck for a while and it was only a matter of time before they opened their own mobile food operation, Pho Realz?! Ves uses family recipes at his mobile restaurant that serves traditional Southeastern Asian Cuisine. If you are ever in the San Diego area, stop by a Farmer's Market or Brewery and say "Hi!" I really jumped outside of my realm when I made this dish, but it was a fantastic choice. I had the opportunity to use ingredients I don't normally use or haven't used before. That was an adventure in itself, haha. Going to the Asian Supermarket can be quite the task on a busy Saturday morning at a new store that you've never been to. It's even more difficult when the items you're looking for are hidden, don't look exactly like they do on Wikipedia, or I just couldn't find them. Not to mention, the place was a freaking MADHOUSE! After hitting FOUR different supermarkets, I found all of the ingredients I needed. Each store usually carried the products I needed, but they were sold out before I got to them! Like I said....MADHOUSE! A couple of tidbits before we jump into the recipe. 1) I chose to not make this spicy because I wanted my friends, coworkers, and whoever else that tried it actually enjoy it and to get a real taste for all of the amazing ingredients that go into making Cha Kroueng. If you like it spicy, go ahead and throw in your preferred pepper! 2)This recipe is as authentic as it gets. In an effort to keep it Paleo & Primal friendly, I changed the Oil used for cooking as well as subbed Coconut Sugar for regular. 3) The original recipe calls for a Wok to be used. The reason a Wok actually works is when a high flame rises to the top of the Wok on the sides and cooks all of the food evenly. On a standard kitchen oven, this just can't be attained. 4) The original recipe called for Hot Basil or Spicy Globe Basil and I couldn't find that, so I used regular fresh Basil. Please let me know what you think and enjoy! I surely did!