I LOVE Thai food.
However, I never know what to order when we go to a Thai restaurant because its got a slightly more confusing and crazy menu than your typical chinese.
Tom Yum Goong. Pad See Ew. Beef Panang.
Huh? The only word I got out of that was "beef."
My brother-in-law and his gf however, are Thai experts.
Experts, as in, the people at the restaurant they took us to, know them by name....
Experts, as in, one night my bro-in-law decided to cook us some Thai food. And he went on and on about how hot the Thai chili peppers are and telling my husband NOT to rub his eyes after touching them.
And then some manly competition ensued about who could eat a whole pepper by itself. Whereby, my husband bit into a particularly hot pepper and started to yell and flap his arms like a bird.
Which made my bro-in-law laugh himself to tears and then WIPE the tears out of his eyes. After touching the chilis.
Needless to say, for the rest of us it was a hoot.
Them, notsomuch.
So from bro-in-laws highly cultured advice, during our last visit to a thai restaurant, I ordered Spicy Thai Basil Chicken.
All of which is in English, thankyouverymuch.
It's made of deliciously crunchy chicken, which is swimming in a spicy gravy-like sauce riddled with the taste of basil.
And Oh-my-Thai! It was delish.
So last night I set out to recreate my own. And I literally had to stop myself from eating it for breakfast.
Where's a padlock when you need one?
Spicy Thai Basil Chicken
1 lb chicken breasts or tenders, cut into 2'' cubes
1 1/3 cup coconut milk
10 basil leaves
4 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp fish sauce
2 Tbsp Siracha Chili Sauce
2 Tbsp Red Pepper flakes
2 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp ginger paste
Dash white pepper
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1 large shallot, diced (or small onion)
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 Tbsp butter
1 cup jasmine rice
Dash salt and pepper
2 cups water
1. Mix together marinade. Add coconut milk, 6 basil leaves (torn), red pepper flakes, soy sauce, fish sauce, chili sauce, sesame oil, and ginger paste, and divide. (Add more red pepper to your desired spiciness.) Coat chicken lightly in white pepper. Marinate chicken in half of marinade for 1-3 hours.
2. In a large pot, sauté peppers and shallot in 1 tbsp butter until translucent and tender. Remove vegetables and place off to the side. Add vegetable oil to pot and heat at Medium- Medium High until the wrong end of a wooden spoon placed in the oil produces rapid bubbles around the handle. (This tells you the oil is ready for frying-if you have another method, have at it!)
3. In a separate pan, bring to boil 1 cup rice and 2 cups of water with dash salt and pepper and 1 tbsp butter. Once boiling, reduce to simmer, and simmer on low 20-25 minutes until rice is tender and water has evaporated.
4. Toss chicken in flour, and add a few pieces at a time to the oil, lightly frying the chicken 1-2 minutes on each side until cooked in the center.
5. Set chicken aside, and cook remaining marinade in a pot on medium heat for 4-5 minutes until thick and creamy. Stir in vegetables and cook 1-2 minutes more. Add chicken and remaining basil leaves, and coat with sauce.
Serve over rice.
4 servings
Printable Recipe
"How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.They cannot be numbered! I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand!" Psalm 139:17-18
