I enjoy watching the Australian SBS food channel for recipes and inspirations. The idea of this Thai chicken and basil stir fry came from the classic Food Safari series hosted by Maeve O'Meara. It is fresh, simple to make, ready for the table in minutes, and you guess it, fiery! While the amount of chillies and garlic you put in the mortar to pound is negotiable, don't be tempted to use a food processor - it doesn't give you the right texture and the same oomph when the aromatics hit the hot oil. The chicken is tossed in the wok until just cooked. The addition of basil leaves with their bittersweet flavour makes the dish. Use Thai holy basil to be authentic, but ordinary basil is also good. Serve this dish with rice and one or two deep-fried eggs with runny yolks on top if you like (which helps to tone down the heat of the chillies).
Serves 2
INGREDIENTS
- 340g / 12oz skinless chicken breast
- 6-8 red cayenne chillies, roughly sliced
- 6-8 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
- 2 teaspoons oyster sauce
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon chicken stock or water
- 1 small onion, cut into wedges
- 1-2 spring onions, sliced into 3cm / 1¼" lengths
- a large handful of holy basil or ordinary basil leaves
METHOD
- Slice chicken breast with your knife slanting against the grain into thin bite size pieces.
- Pound the chillies and garlic in a mortar until a rough paste is formed.
- Heat a wok until very hot, then add the oil and swirl to coat the surface. Add the chilli and garlic and stir fry for 30 seconds.
- Add the chicken and stir fry for 1-2 minutes, or until the chicken is about 80% cooked through.
- Stir in the oyster sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce and sugar.
- Add the onion, spring onion and the chicken stock or water. Continue to stir fry until the chicken is just cooked.
- Turn off the heat and toss in basil leaves. Give it a final stir. Serve immediately with rice.
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