Thai Basil Chicken

dianegrapegrower's Note:

Adapted (liberally) from Simply THAI Cooking, this is a favorite in our house, as testified by the badly stained page in my cookbook. Can also sub pork for the chicken. Change vege to suit your taste - green beans are nice instead of bok choy. Prep all ingredients, including the sauces, before starting to cook.

• Total Time: 40 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 3

• 1 medium bok choy, sliced 1-inch wide, whites and greens separated
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 1/2 red bell pepper, sliced
• 12 ounces boneless skinless chicken breast halves, sliced 1/4-inch thick
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup shredded basil
• peanut oil, for stir-fying

Sauce 1

• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce

Sauce 2

• 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
• 4 tablespoons water
• 1 teaspoon chili paste

Sauce 3

• 1 teaspoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons water

Directions:

1. Heat oil in wok. Stir-fry onions, peppers, and white part of bok-choy until crisp tender. Remove and keep warm.
2. Add oil to wok if needed and stir-fry chicken, garlic, and pepper flakes until chicken is done. Add sauces in order, stirring between each addition to coat. Add cooked vegetables back and stir to coat.
3. Add green part of bok choy and basil, stirring just unti hot-crisp, and beginning to wilt. Serve immediately.

Reviews

[Deantini]

This was too salty - and I don't get it because I am usually the person that needs to add more salt at the table. I made as listed - perhaps it was my fish sauce or soya sauce, although they are the regular types you get in any supermarket. The salt overpowered the other flavours. I rechecked the quantities in the sauces thinking that perhaps I added too much.

[Lenore Spirit]

This was fantastic, the flavor was amazing! I used broccoli, onion, red pepper, and mushrooms. I substituted hoisin sauce for oyster sauce because I couldn't find oyster sauce without HFCS, it was super tasty! I also used half teaspoon of chili paste and it was very mild, I'll probably use more next time, but I was a little worried about the spice. I wanted something like the traditional dish at a local thai place and this far exceeded my expectations of anything I could make! Thank you for this recipe, my hubb and I LOVED it!!!

[lalalucy]

This was surprisingly good. Found the recipe when searching for something to use up some fresh basil (although after reading some reviews now I want to try to find some thai basil!) It was my first time eating bok choy, not bad! The only subs we made were using 1 tsp green curry paste instead of chili paste, and we added peanuts because my husband loves to put them in any asian dish that he can. For me it was on the verge of being too salty but the flavor won out. Maybe the low sodium soy sauce saved it from going over the salty edge? Will definitely be making this again!