Stir fry chicken with Thai basil

When I was traveling in Thailand, every stall had a version of this dish. Its a simple, staple stir fry dish and absolutely lovely. It works best if you have grown your own basil, but freshly picked basil from a friend's garden or purchased at a farmer's market works well too. As with all stirfrys, marinating the chicken in cornstarch and water for a few minutes really locks in the chicken's moisture.

Make sure your wok is really really hot before adding your ingredients. The key to this dish is really the basil and chili combination. You need lots of them. For a while, I would dumb down the chili because I thought it would be too hot, but the spiciness of the chilies brings out the sweetness of the basil!

Thai chili really makes this dish, but so far I haven't been able to find any here. I usually opt for the serrano, as it is more readily available here in the bay area (I get mine from the local Indian grocery store!)

Ingredients
1.5 teaspoon cornstarch
4 tablespoons water
1 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into slices 1/4 inch thick and 2 inches long
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon sliced garlic
1 to 2 teaspoons chili (Thai, serrano or jalapeno)
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon oyster sauce
1/4 cup homemade chicken stock (2 cubes)
1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1 cup of fresh basil leaves, either Italian or Thai


Whisk together the cornstarch and water in a mixing bowl. Add the chicken and toss with a fork for a few times, so the chicken is completely coated. Set aside until ready to cook.

Heat your wok. Add a swig of oil to your wok, enough to cover it thinly and evenly. Wait till the oil gets really hot, almost shimmering. Add the onion, garlic and chili. Stir fry for 20 seconds.















Add the chicken. Continue to stir fry until the chicken begins to turn white, about 3-5 minutes. Add the fish sauce, oyster sauce and chicken stock. Continue to stir fry for 3-5 minutes, until the chicken is completely cooked.

Toss in the red bell pepper and stir fry for 1-2 minutes more.

Just before serving, add the basil and give it a good toss. Serve immediately with steamed rice.

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