If you aren’t afraid of a little heat, this dish is for you. Saute a variety of healthy vegetables in a delicious thai basil sauce to make your own favorite takeout dish. You won’t regret learning to make this bowl full of spicy Thai goodness!
My hubby has been rockin’ the kitchen lately. He has a really creative side to him, and I love when he expresses it with food. This is a recipe he has been perfecting for a while, and he made me promise not to write a post about it until he got it juuuust right. We were both extremely happy about how it turned out the other night, so I have been granted permission to share!
By the way, it is another beautiful day here in Minnesota. I am loving this weather! I can’t wait to get myself out of the house today. It’s haircut day (I love haircut day!), so I get to venture out sans boys for a bit. Weeee!
In a medium bowl, combine:
1 cup fresh basil leaves
1 1/2 cups water
Fully immerse the basil in the water and let the leaves soak for 10 minutes.
Do the following prep work while the basil is soaking:
– Cut 4 defrosted chicken breast halves into 1-inch cubes.
– Thinly slice 3 shallots.
– Mince 8 large cloves of garlic (add to the bowl with shallots).
– Thinly slice 10-20 Thai chili peppers.
Drain the water from the bowl with the basil leaves.
Tailor the amount of peppers used to your liking. A good substitution for 10 Thai chili peppers would be 5 serrano peppers.
Heat 3 tablespoons of peanut oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Add the garlic and shallots and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly.
Add the chicken and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes, or until the outsides of the chicken pieces turn white.
Add the chili peppers to the skillet, along with:
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce
Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.
Add the basil leaves and cook until they become shriveled, about 2 minutes.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in 3/4 cup chopped unsalted peanuts.
Serve warm, over noodles or rice.
Spicy Thai Basil Chicken
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh basil leaves
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 3 tbsp. peanut oil
- 8 large garlic cloves minced
- 3 shallots sliced
- 4 chicken breast halves defrosted and cut into 1-inch cubes
- 10-20 Thai chili peppers  thinly sliced (substitution: 5 serrano peppers, sliced)
- 3 tbsp. soy sauce
- 1 tbsp. fish sauce
- 3/4 cup unsalted peanuts chopped
- Noodles or rice for serving
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine basil leaves and water. Fully immerse basil in the water and let soak for 10 minutes.
- Heat peanut oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat. Add garlic and shallots and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add chicken and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes until the outsides of the chicken pieces turn white. Add Thai chile peppers (or Serrano peppers), soy sauce and fish sauce. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.
- Strain water from the basil leaves and add to the wok. Cook until the basil is shriveled, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in peanuts. Serve warm, over noodles or rice.
Hi Christy! I used udon noodles and they went great with the dish. I found the peppers in our local grocery store. I think they are pretty easy to find.
Megan
What type of noodles did you use in this dish? Where did you find the peppers? A specialty store? It looks amazing!!!
this dish looks incredible! i really love thai food, especially the dishes with crushed peanuts- they give such a nice crunch!
I think I would pick "Meyer Lemon with Lemon Thyme, Limoncello and Lemon Peel" as well!
I LOVE Thai food! It's probably one of my all time favourite ethnic cuisines. I love the peanuts on top as well, definitely a great way to mix up the texture and flavour of a dish! Another Pip dish for the Must Make List!