Thai Basil Chicken

Santa was very good to my cooking blog this year. I couldn’t even get all my new cookware home in my luggage! However, I was sure to fit in an item that I have been anxious to get in my kitchen for some time now – an Asian wok!

I think I was anxious to get back in my kitchen this morning because I found myself grocery shopping at 6 am! I came to find that shopping that early is actually really wonderful and made my Sunday seem extra long.

The recipe below is from the William Sonoma cookbook titled “Chicken”. I will be trying many stir-fry recipes in the next few weeks so check back for more posts! This dish was very light, easy, and delicious. The only critique I would make is if you like vegetables, then add more than 1 red pepper to the mix. Personally, I didn’t think just one was enough.

If you find yourself inspired to take up stir-fry like myself, I encourage you skip your typical grocery store and instead look up a local Chinese food market to purchase sauce ingredients. I bought about 8 different sauces at a store in Madison next to Imperial Garden for $13, which was a great deal!

Hope you enjoy :)

Thai Basil Chicken Stir-Fry

Ingredients:

6 tbsp chicken stock

2 tbsp fish sauce

2 tsp brown sugar

½ tsp cornstarch

2 tbsp of vegetable oil

1 red bell pepper

1 or 2 Thai or jalapeño chilies

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb of boneless chicken cut into thin strips

¾ cup fresh Thai basil leaves

3 green onions

1 cup jasmine rice

Directions:

In small bowl, whisk together chicken stock, fish sauce, brown sugar, and cornstarch until fully dissolved. Set aside.

In large wok, heat oil over high heat. Add bell pepper and sauté for 1 minute. Add chilies to taste then garlic and stir-fry until fragrant. Add chicken and cook until the meat loses pink color. Stir in basil and green onions.

Whisk sauce mixture again then pour into wok. Cook until the liquid comes to a boil.

Serve with jasmine rice.