Chicken Basil Stir-Fry

This dish is one that I’ve been dying to share for quite a while now. I just haven’t gotten the chance to type up my notes until today.

Thai food is one of my favorite cuisines. My usual favorites are phad thai, phad see ew, phad kee mao, spinach with tofu and peanut sauce, panang curry, mango curry, avocado curry, red curry, yellow curry, chicken with Thai basil, and the list goes on.

As much as I love Thai food, I have never attempted making it at home because I’m afraid that it won’t turn out as good as the ones I’ve had in restaurants. The only Thai dish I remember making is chicken satay with peanut sauce and that was fairly painless and delicious. About three weeks ago, we had tons of basil dying to be used (leftover from the roasted red pepper pesto that I made) and DFJ thought we could use it to make the chicken basil dish. I was iffy about the basil we had because it wasn’t Thai basil, but basil is basil and it makes everything taste wonderful. Since we have most of the basic Asian sauces, we started pulling out the ones we thought would be necessary for this dish.

This is super easy to make and relatively quick too. Please give it a try because it is delicious! The chicken is flavorful and tender, and the basil adds some sweetness and a very wonderful aroma to the dish. A great balance of salty and sweet… and depending on how spicy you want your food to taste, you can always throw in a dash of red pepper flakes.

Chicken Basil Stir-Fry  (Makes 4 servings)

Stir-fry Sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp chili paste
1 tsp brown sugar, firmly packed

1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp hot chili sesame oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 shallot, sliced
4 oz mushrooms, sliced
2 chicken breast fillets, cut into small pieces
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 jalapeno, diced
1 cup basil, firmly packed
salt and pepper
¼ tsp red pepper flakes (this is optional or you can add more for an extra kick)

In a small bowl, mix all the sauce ingredients together well with a fork.

In a big bowl, season chicken pieces with ½ teaspoon kosher salt (or less, if you’re trying to limit your salt intake) and as much pepper as you prefer. Mix well together. Let sit while you prepare the other ingredients.

In a large pan, heat olive oil and sesame oil over medium heat. Sauté the garlic until golden brown.

Throw in shallots and sauté for a little over a minute, until soft. Throw in mushrooms and sauté for a little over a minute until soft.

Add the chicken and stir for about a minute and a half, to lightly cook the outer edges. Pour in the sauce and stir for about two minutes.

Add bell peppers and jalapenos and stir for about two minutes. (Throw in the red pepper flakes if using any.)

Stir in the basil and stir for another two minutes.

Serve immediately!

Great with jasmine rice.