Thai Chicken and Basil

Thai Chicken and Basil

Ingredients

•  1 lb of boneless chicken breast or thighs, chopped finely
•  1 cup of Thai basil leaves (or better yet, holy basil if you can find it)
•  4 cloves of garlic, minced
•  1/4 of a medium-sized onion, finely diced
•  1 teaspoon of red or green Thai pepper, finely chopped (~ two peppers)
•  1 teaspoon of pad prik khing paste (or red curry paste)
•  1 tablespoon of fish sauce
•  1 tablespoon of dark soy sauce
•  1/2 tablespoon of kecap manis (a sweet, thick soy sauce) *
•  1 tablespoon of brown sugar (or palm sugar)
•  1 and 1/2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
•  1/3 cup of water

*Note: If kecap manis is unavailable add an extra teaspoon of dark soy and 1/2 teaspoon of brown sugar.

Instructions:

Important:  Prepare and assemble all ingredients and place them somewhere within easy reach of the cook top where you will be working.  Once the cooking starts it goes very quickly and needs almost constant attention.

Heat a medium-sized wok, or a 12″ skillet, over medium high heat until very hot.

Add oil to pan and immediately add onions and garlic.  Stir fry until aromatic ~10 to 15 seconds making sure not to let the garlic scorch.

Add the chicken to the wok and stir to mix the onions, garlic and chicken together.

Stir fry until the chicken just begins to lightly brown about 1 to 2 minutes.

Add the pad prik khing or red curry paste and stir fry for a few seconds to coat the meat.

Add the Thai chili, soy sauce, kecap manis, sugar, and the fish sauce to the wok.  Let cook for 1 minute, stirring every few seconds.

Add the water to the wok and cook for another minute, stirring mixture occasionally.

Add basil leaves then stir to mix the basil into the mixture. Continue to cook the mixture until basil is just wilted then remove from heat ~ 15 seconds. Serve.