The only problem making this dish is that you cant find Thai basil easily. My mom has a plant at her house so I will have to ask her where she bought the seeds and plant some of my own. But don't distress this recipe was written for Italian basil using Americans and is still so dang good! LOVE IT!
*American Test Kitchen Recipes are not for those who don't like cooking. They are all about getting the best taste not about one pan cooking. Lucky for me I like going dishes, I love cooking, and I love sharing my masterpieces with my family thus I appreciate them very much. Note: This is a mild version of the Thai stir fry. It is a slow Thai stir-fry contrary to the super hot Chinese version. What makes Thai heat so delicious is the sugar they add to almost every dish. if you amp up the heat amp up the sugar too and if you cut back on heat cut back on the sugar. The ratio of heat to sugar is important in Thai food.
Ingredients
2 cups fresh basil leaves, tightly packed
3 medium garlic cloves, peeled
2 green Serrano chilies or 6 Red Thai chilies, stemmed (cut out seeds) leave in the seeds if you
want it really hot.
1 TB fish sauce
1 tsp white rice vinegar
1 TB oyster sauce * I did not have so I added 1 TB sweet soy sauce and then omitted the sugar
1 TB sugar
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast chopped super fine * I asked the butcher to chop mine for me
but you can put it into a food processor and mince it yourself at home if you want. I used 1 1/2 lbs.
3 medium Shallots, peeled and thinly sliced (about 3/4 cups)
2 TB vegetable oil
1.) Process one cup basil leaves, garlic, and chilies in food processor until finely chopped.Transfer 1 TB of the basil mixture to a small bowl and stir in 1 TB fish sauce, 1 TB oyster sauce, vinegar, and sugar; set aside. Transfer remaining basil mixture to 12 inch heavy-bottomed nonstick skillet.
2.) Add 1 TB fish sauce and 1 TB water to food processor and turn on letting the liquid clean and gather the basil mixture. Pour over the minced chicken and cover and refrigerate for 15 minutes. OR if you are mincing your chicken in the processor add the chicken cut into 2x2 inch cubes into the "dirty" processor with the basil traces and then added 1 TB fish sauce. Pulse 6 to eight times. Transfer to another bowl and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
3.) Stir shallots and oil into basil mixture on skillet. Heat over med-low heat after 1 1/2 min the mixture should start to sizzle if it dosen't in that time change heat accordingly. Stir constantly until garlic and shallots are golden brown, 5 to 8 minutes.
4.) Add chicken, increase heat to medium, and cook, stirring and breaking up chicken until only a few traces of pink remain, 2 to 4 minutes. Add reserve basil-fish sauce mixture and continue to cook stirring constantly, until all traces of pink are gone. Add the remaining cup basil leaves and cook 30 to 60 seconds until the basil leaves are wilted. Serve immediately with steamed jasmine rice.
In Thailand they serve it with fish sauce, sugar, red pepper flakes and vinegar as condiments for people to add to the dish as they like.
1 comment:
I wanted to try this recipe but I need to wait until spring. All my basil is dead and I don't want to buy any. Last year I planted Thai basil and it was beautiful. Much prettier than Italian basil. I didn't find much taste difference between it and Italian--maybe a bit spicier, but the texture of the leaves was tougher.
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