This is a go-to dish for us when we have extra basil laying around. It’s a quick, easy and light dish to add to any week night menu. It has a really good, unique flavor with the fish sauce and vinegar topping. You can put your own twist on it with different peppers and onions. I like to eat this over cooked brown rice, but be creative and serve it with any side instead. I didn’t include the rice into the nutrition information so you can easily switch it up. Enjoy!
Serves: 2 | Serving Size: 1/2 of dish
Ingredients:
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves – plus extra if desired
- 2 green or red Thai chilies (substitute options: Serrano or jalapeno peppers – but watch that extra heat!)
- 1 garlic clove – peeled
- 2 1/2 teaspoons fish sauce – plus extra for serving
- 1 1/2 teaspoons oyster sauce
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar – plus extra for serving
- 1/2 teaspoon distilled white vinegar – plus extra for serving
- 12 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast
- 1 shallot – sliced thin
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- red pepper flakes for serving
- 2 cups cooked brown rice
Directions:
- In a food processor, pulse 2 cups fresh basil, Thai chilies and garlic in until finely chopped, 10 to 12 pulses, scraping sides of bowl as needed. Transfer 2 teaspoons of basil mixture to small bowl and stir in 1 1/2 teaspoons fish sauce, oyster sauce, sugar and vinegar. Transfer remaining basil mixture to 10-inch nonstick skillet.
- Without cleaning food processor bowl, add chicken and 1 teaspoon of fish sauce – process until meat is coarsely chopped, about 6 pulses; transfer to bowl and refrigerate for 15 to 30 minutes.
- Stir shallot and oil into basil mixture in skillet. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until garlic and shallot are browned, 5 to 8 minutes. (Mixture should start to sizzle after 90 seconds, if it doesn’t, adjust heat accordingly).
- Stir in chopped chicken and cook over medium heat, breaking up chicken until only traces of pink remain. Add reserved basil-fish sauce mixture and cook, stirring constantly until chicken is no longer pink. Once chicken is fully cooked, let mixture simmer for about 5 minutes. Add additional fresh basil if desired, cooked until wilted.
- Serve immediately over one cup of brown rice, using extra fish sauce, sugar, vinegar and red pepper flakes as desired. Enjoy!
Nutrition Information: *rice not included in nutritional information*
Per serving: Calories: 239; Total Fat: 9g; Cholesterol: 116mg; Sodium: 447mg; Total Carbohydrates: 7g; Dietary Fiber: 0g; Sugars: 5g; Protein: 30g
Nutrition Bonus: Potassium: 471mg; Vitamin A: 2%; Vitamin C: 1%; Calcium: 1%; Iron: 4%
Adopted from: America’s Test Kitchen. “Thai Chicken with Basil.” The Complete Cooking for Two Cookbook. Boston: American Test Kitchen, 2014. 119. Print.
