Thai Basil Chicken (Pad Kra Pao) Recipe
Servings: 2
Ingredients
- 1 to 6 Thai chilies***
- 4 to 5 Garlic cloves
- 3 Tablespoons of vegetable or canola oil
- 1 Large chicken breast coarsely ground (or roughly ½ to ¾ Lb of storebought ground chicken)
- ½ of a small onion cut into thin strips
- ½ of a red bell pepper cut into thin strips
- 1 Handful of fresh basil leaves
- For the sauce:
- 1 Tablespoon of soy sauce
- 1 Tablespoon of oyster sauce
- 2 Teaspoons of fish sauce
- 1 Teaspoon of dark soy sauce optional, mainly for color
- 1½ Teaspoons of sugar
- A splash of water about 1 to 2 Tablespoons
Instructions
- Prep aromatics: Add the Thai chilies and garlic to a food processor and pulse until it is roughly minced. You can also do this with a regular chef’s knife on a cutting board if you don’t have a food processor.
- Combine all of the ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl and whisk until the sugar has dissolved.
- Fry the aromatics: Get out a large wok or skillet and place over medium-high heat. Add in the oil and let it get hot. Toss in the minced chilies and garlic, and sautee until the garlic starts to turn golden, about 30 seconds.
- Add the chicken: Toss in the ground chicken and stir it in with the aromatics. Stir fry this for 2 to 3 minutes making sure to break up the ground chicken so no large clumps form.
- Add onion, bell pepper, and sauce: Once the ground chicken starts to look fully cooked toss in the onion, bell pepper, and sauce. Continue to toss and stir fry everything for another minute or two.
- Turn off the heat and toss in the basil. Stir everything for another minute so that the residual heat wilts the basil leaves.
- Serve the Thai basil chicken immediately with some jasmine rice, enjoy!
Notes
*** The number of Thai chilies used depends on your spice tolerance. (1 to 2 chilies = medium spice, 3 to 4 chilies = hot, and 5 to 6 or more = extra spicy)