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Stir-Fried Thai Basil

A quick and vibrant Stir-Fried Thai Basil dish, perfect for weeknight dinners, featuring tender chicken, fresh chilies, and aromatic herbs.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine: Thai
Calories: 450
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the Stir-Fry
  • 5-10 pcs Thai chilies, or to taste Adjust to your preferred spice level.
  • 5 cloves garlic
  • 1 pcs spur chili or another mild, red pepper, chopped
  • 0.5 cups long beans, cut into short pieces
  • 0.5 small onion, diced
  • 300 g chicken, coarsely ground
  • 1 Tbsp oyster sauce Vegetarian options can use mushroom soy sauce.
  • 1 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 2 tsp fish sauce
  • 1.5 tsp black soy sauce or sub dark soy sauce and reduce regular soy sauce to 2 tsp.
  • 2 Tbsp water
  • 1.5 tsp sugar
  • 1.5 cups holy basil leaves, loosely packed A must-have for authenticity and flavor.
  • Vegetable oil, as needed Use your favorite vegetable oil for stir-frying.
  • 2-3 pcs eggs 1 per person.
  • Jasmine rice for serving Recommended for its fragrance and fluffiness.

Method
 

Preparation
  1. Pound the Thai chilies into a fine paste, then add the garlic and spur chilies, pounding them into a rough paste.
  2. In a bowl, mix the oyster sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce, black soy sauce, water, and sugar, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
Cooking
  1. In a wok or large sauté pan, heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Add the garlic chili paste, frying until the garlic turns golden and fragrant.
  2. Toss in the coarsely ground chicken, stirring until there aren’t any big clumps.
  3. Once the chicken is mostly cooked, pour in your sauce mixture and toss thoroughly until the chicken is nearly done.
  4. Add the diced onions and short pieces of long beans, stirring until the chicken is fully cooked through.
  5. Remove from heat, then fold in the holy basil, tasting to adjust flavors.
Frying Egg
  1. In a separate small non-stick pan, heat about 1 cm of vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Crack in the egg and let it fry until the edges are golden and the white is set.
Serving
  1. Serve the fragrant stir-fried mix over a bed of jasmine rice, topping with the beautiful fried egg.
  2. A drizzle of prik nam pla (Thai chili fish sauce) elevates the flavors further—enjoy!

Notes

Leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 3 days; just heat thoroughly before serving. The sauce can be prepared a day ahead for extra flavor. Don't chop your basil until the last minute to maintain fragrance.