Description
This Thai Chilli Basil Chicken is a quick and flavorful stir fry featuring tender chicken thigh pieces cooked with aromatic garlic, fresh Thai basil, and fiery bird’s eye chilli. The dish is finished with a glossy, savory sauce made from oyster sauce, soy sauce, and a touch of sugar, served best alongside steamed jasmine rice for an authentic Thai meal experience.
Ingredients
Scale
Chicken and Aromatics
- 225g chicken thigh fillets, skinless boneless, cut into bite size pieces
- 1 green onion, cut into 4cm lengths
- 1 cup Thai basil leaves, loosely packed
- 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 soy sauce)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 2 tbsp water
Serving
- Steamed jasmine rice
Instructions
- Prepare the Sauce: Combine the oyster sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar, and water in a small bowl and mix thoroughly to create the sauce base.
- Heat the Oil: Heat the oil in a wok or large pan over high heat until hot but not smoking.
- Sauté Garlic and Chilli: Add the finely chopped garlic and deseeded chilli to the wok, cooking for about 10 seconds until fragrant. Avoid inhaling the fumes to prevent coughing from the chilli.
- Cook Chicken and Green Onion White Parts: Add the white parts of the green onion and the chicken pieces to the wok and stir-fry until the chicken is fully cooked, approximately 2 minutes.
- Add Sauce and Reduce: Pour in the prepared sauce and cook for 1 minute, stirring continuously until the sauce thickens to a glossy consistency.
- Wilt Basil and Green Onion Toppings: Toss in the green parts of the green onions and basil leaves. Stir everything together just until the basil is wilted but still vibrant.
- Serve: Immediately serve the Thai chilli basil chicken with steamed jasmine rice for a complete and satisfying meal.
Notes
- Holy Basil is the traditional Thai basil variety used here, offering a more aniseed and peppery flavor compared to sweet basil. If unavailable, Thai basil or even regular basil can be used as a substitute.
- Finely chopping garlic instead of mincing helps prevent it from burning quickly and reduces spatters in the hot wok.
- You can substitute the soy sauces with just light soy sauce or an all-purpose soy sauce like Kikkoman; avoid using only dark soy sauce as it can overpower the dish.
- This recipe yields one large serving or two moderate servings; a side of fresh cucumber and tomato slices is a perfect Thai-inspired accompaniment.
- Nutrition values provided exclude the steamed jasmine rice.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 320 kcal
- Sugar: 4 g
- Sodium: 650 mg
- Fat: 18 g
- Saturated Fat: 4 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 13 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 6 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 35 g
- Cholesterol: 95 mg
