After I graduated college, my mom sent me on a trip to Thailand and Laos. Here, I rediscovered this spicy hot stir fry of juicy minced chicken, snuggled up close to sweet bites of basil. The taste wasn’t new to me, but at the same time it was. I found something so familiar and comfortable in this everyday Thai meal, that even though my mouth was completely on fire, I welcomed the heat.
This quick stir fry is fairly simple to make. Depending on where you live, the only trick may be in locating Thai basil. The sweet kind is the most common (and it smells so, so lovely). If you can’t find Thai peppers, you can substitute with serranos, jalapeños or fresnos. I suppose you can even use regular Italian basil too, but I’ve never tried it that way. There’s probably an Asian grocery store closer to you than you realize, I myself live near three. And I’m in no big city.
This can be a quick meal, and if made truly authentic, the heat from the Thai chili peppers will turn your insides out. I’m not as daring when it comes to spice, so I keep it at a minimum using only two to three peppers in my dish. Just enough heat to sizzle the lips, but not enough to burn the belly.
Also, whenever possible, I grind my own meat in the food processor. If you don’t have one, you can mince the meat with a knife. I like the control of knowing what is actually in my ground up cuts, and I can also use the bones for broth later on. Any meat will work for this meal, but I really like the tenderness of dark chicken, preferably thighs.
Spicy Thai Chicken with Basil, or Gai Pad Ka Pow
serves 4
2 large bunches of Thai sweet basil (or Holy basil if you can find it)
1 lb. ground dark chicken (meat from approx. four chicken thighs)
oil for frying
1 shallot, minced
6 garlic cloves, minced
2-7 Thai chili peppers, minced (if you want it authentic burn-your-insides-spicy, do at least 6)
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons fish sauce
Wash and remove the leaves from the basil steams, you should have about 2 cups. Set aside.
Heat a pan on high heat. Add enough oil to generously cover the bottom of the pan and give it a good swirl. Once hot, saute the shallots, garlic and Thai peppers until the garlic starts to turn golden, about 30 seconds.
Throw in the ground chicken, stirring constantly to break up the pieces. Fry for a couple of minutes until the chicken is just cooked and no longer pink. Next add in the sugar and fish sauce and continue to stir.
Turn the heat down to medium high and add in the basil leaves and mix until the basil starts to wilt.
Remove from heat and serve hot with rice. A fried egg on top is also really tasty.
Dear Veeda whom I love,
From an cooking Asian food virgin I have what is probably a laughable question for you. What exactly is fish sauce and does it taste like fish? And where do I get a good one?
Loves!
LJ
Dear LJ whom I love,
Fish sauce is a condiment that comes in a bottle (like soy sauce). It’s really salty and a super good addition to food and yes, it’s a little fishy. Fish sauce is a actually a common find. Most regular grocery stores will carry it, just check the Asian food isle. The brands I like are Squid, Three Crabs and Tiparos/Lucky? (I can remember what the bottle looks like, but not the name!)
Dear LJ whom I love,
Fish sauce is a condiment that comes in a bottle (like soy sauce). It’s really salty and a super good addition to food and yes, it’s a little fishy. Fish sauce is a actually a common find. Most regular grocery stores will carry it, just check the Asian food isle. The brands I like are Squid, Three Crabs and Tiparos/Lucky? (I can remember what the bottle looks like, but not the name!)
mouth wateringly good! your recipes never cease to send me straight to the market : )
where do you buy your thai or holy basil? do you think chao’s market in provo has it? i go there often but have never looked for basil. would it be complete sacrilege to use regular sweet basil?
i want to eat this dish now.
Hannah, thank you always!
Cynthia, oh you should eat this right now. I love Chaos and I have bought Thai basil in their refrigerator section. There is a Thai/Lao grocery store on 300 South that I also love that sells basil too. It’s just called Asian Market. And if you make it with regular basil I bet it would still taste great (but can’t guarantee it since I’ve never tried it). Not sacrilege at all.
Mmmm this is one of my favorite Thai dishes, so simple yet so satisfying. I especially like it with a fried egg on top:-)
this looks sooooo delish. I love me some Thai food. Unfortunately there are no good Thai restaurants here in Santa Cruz.
That was amazing, I made mine with mince pork and a fried egg on top was perfect wiv the dish.
Hi Veeda,
I stared at this recipe for months and finally bit the bullet to make it for a visiting friend over the weekend. However, when I went to pull up the recipe and saw that your site was unavailable, I freaked out. But you know what? Apparently, staring at it all that time helped me memorise what I needed to do and I was able to fix the dish successfully and my guest LOVED every bite. I will be making this again and again. Thank you so much…