Spicy Thai-style Basil Chicken

Prep Methods/Techniques
Cuisine ,
Course
Servings 4
Description
We love this dish at Thai restaurants. This version can be very spicy depending on the type of chile you use. It is really good. Serve it over rice.
Noted on 2/10/2012
Ingredients
  • 2 tbsp peanut oil
  • 10 clove garlic, peeled and minced
  • 3 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 12 oz (about 4 to 5) skinless, boneless chicken thighs
  • 6 to 12 Thai chiles, thinly sliced (serrano chiles can be substituted)
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tbsp fish sauce, or to taste
  • 1 cup lightly packed basil leaves, shredded
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Freshly cooked rice
Method
  1. Have everything ready before you begin to cook, including a pot of freshly cooked rice. The cooking here goes really fast.
  2. Heat a wok or heavy skillet until its surface is smoking hot. Add the oil and swirl to coat the surface. Let the oil heat for a few seconds then add the onion and garlic. Stir for 10 to 15 seconds and add the chicken. Stir-fry 1-3 minutes or until the chicken has lost its pink color.
  3. Add the chiles. Sprinkle with the soy, fish sauce and basil. Stir-fry for another minute, add a grinding of pepper and serve over cooked rice.
Cook's Notes
Yield
4 main course servings
Ingredient Notes
I usually get chicken thighs and trim and grind them myself. I know most of you are going to substitute ground chick breasts, so go ahead, you have my blessing.
You can substitute 4-6 serrano or jalapeños chiles for the Thai chiles.
Most of the time I serve this dish with butter lettuce leaves for wrapping around portions of rice and chicken. Sometimes we skip the rice altogether.
Source/Adapted From
Kasama Loha-unchit
I've adapted this recipe from the original, because some of the ingredients were hard to find without some advance planning and we like to make this frequently without all that pesky planning getting in the way. See the original recipe here.