Description
Thai Chilli Basil Chicken is a quick and flavorful stir-fry dish featuring tender chicken thigh pieces cooked with garlic, bird’s eye chili, and fragrant Thai basil leaves, all tossed in a savory and slightly sweet sauce. Perfectly paired with steamed jasmine rice, this dish brings authentic Thai street food flavors to your home kitchen in just 15 minutes.
Ingredients
Scale
Chicken and Vegetables
- 225 g chicken thigh fillets, skinless boneless, cut into bite size pieces
- 1 green onion, cut into 4 cm lengths
- 1 cup Thai basil leaves, loosely packed (Holy Basil if you can find it)
- 2 garlic cloves, large, finely chopped
- 1 bird’s eye or Thai chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
- 1 1/2 tbsp oil (peanut, vegetable or canola)
Sauce
- 2 tsp oyster sauce
- 1 tsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce (or all-purpose)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 tbsp water
Serving
- Steamed jasmine rice
Instructions
- Prepare the sauce: In a small bowl, mix together oyster sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar, and water until combined.
- Heat the oil: Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of oil in a wok or pan over high heat.
- Cook garlic and chilli: Add finely chopped garlic and deseeded chopped chilli to the hot oil and cook for 10 seconds, taking care not to inhale the fumes as the chilli may cause coughing.
- Cook chicken and white part of green onions: Add the white parts of the green onion and the chicken pieces to the wok. Stir-fry until the chicken is cooked through, approximately 2 minutes.
- Add the sauce: Pour in the prepared sauce and cook for 1 minute, allowing the water to reduce and the sauce to become thick and glossy.
- Add greens and serve: Toss in the green parts of the green onions and the basil leaves, stirring until just wilted. Serve immediately with steamed jasmine rice.
Notes
- Holy Basil (used in authentic Thai recipes) has a more peppery and aniseedy flavor compared to regular sweet basil and can be found in Thai grocery stores.
- If Holy or Thai basil is unavailable, regular basil works as the dish’s strong sauce will still deliver great flavor.
- Finely chopping garlic instead of mincing or using jarred garlic helps prevent it from burning and spitting in the hot pan.
- Substitute light and dark soy sauces with all-purpose soy sauce if needed; using only dark soy sauce is not recommended as it can overpower the flavor.
- This recipe makes 2 reasonable servings; serve with fresh cucumber and tomato slices without dressing for a refreshing side.
- Nutrition information does not include steamed jasmine rice.
