Recipes‎ > ‎Poultry‎ > ‎

Thai Chicken and Basil

Tammy's favorite Thai dish.

Ingredients

  • 3 Tbs Vegetable Oil
  • 4 Garlic cloves, thinly sliced
  • 1 lb Skinless boneless chicken breast portions, cut into bite size pieces
  • 1 Tsp Granulated sugar
  • 2 Tsp Dark soy sauce
  • 3 Tbs Oyster sauce
  • 10-12 Fresh Thai basil leaves
  • 2 Fresh red chilies, seeded and finely chopped
  • About 20 deep-fried basil leaves to garnish

Directions

  1. Heat the oil in a wok or large, heavy frying pan. Add the garlic and chilies and stir-fry over a medium heat for 1-2 minutes until the garlic is golden. Take care not to let the garlic burn, otherwise it will taste bitter.
  2. Add the pieces of chicken to the wok or fry pan, in batches if necessary, and stir-fry until the chicken changes color.
  3. Stir in the fish sauce, soy sauce and sugar. Continue to stir-fry the mixture for 3-4 minutes, or until the chicken is fully cooked and golden brown.
  4. Stir in the fresh Thai basil leaves. Spoon the mixture on to a warm platter, or into individual dishes. Garnish with the chopped chilies and deep-fried Thai basil and serve immediately.

Options

Add any vegetable such as onions, red pepper or carrots for additional flavor and color.

Cooks Tip

To deep-fry Thai basil leaves, first make sure that the leaves are completely dry or they will splutter when added to the oil. Heat vegetable or groundnut (peanut) oil in a wok or deep-fryer to 190°C/375°F or until a cube of bread, added to the oi, browns in about 45 seconds. Add the leaves and deep fry them briefly until they are crisp and translucent - this will take only about 30-4 seconds. Lift out the leaves using a slotted spoon or wire basket and leave them to drain on kitchen paper before using.