A quick stir-fried Thai basil chicken to add to your Asian dinner rotation. Perfect if you love ground chicken meals, Thai street food classics and effortless meals.
This is my take on the popular Thai dish that I picked up from one of our visits to Thailand.
TL;DR
Thai basil chicken is known as a fragrant street food dish in Thailand. Locally, it's called Phat kaphrao kai or Pad Krapow gai. Phat means stir-fried, Kaphrao/krapow means Holy Basil and Kai or gai is the chicken.
It's a simple flavor-packed stir-fry prepared with ground chicken, a sauce, Thai or Holy basil and a Fried Egg. Variations exist with pork, beef, and squid.
We frequently had this as a meal besides Pad Thai and Drunken Noodles when we visited Bangkok. I realized early on that it was simple to recreate it at home and thought you'd appreciate a recipe.
Use a wok or deep pan to prepare this dish and all ingredients need to be prepared and be in place because the cooking process is over high heat and the dish cooks literally within minutes.
Ingredient Notes
- Oil — A vegetable oil of your choice. Peanut oil and cooking sesame oil taste nice, but sunflower oil or canola oil are fine too.
- Egg
- Ground Chicken — Some regions call this chicken mince.
- Thai Chili — That's the generic name outside Thailand, they are better known as Bird's eye chili or Prik Ki Nu.
- Garlic
- Oyster Sauce
- Soy Sauce — Kikkoman style soy sauce or Thai thin soy sauce or mushroom soy sauce.
- Sugar — Plain sugar or palm sugar. I, personally, prefer dark palm sugar, but I will resort to regular crystallized sugar if that's what I have in my pantry. Use what you have.
- Holy Basil or Thai Sweet Basil — Holy Basil is also known as Tulsi or Indian basil, it's sweeter. Thai sweet basil is sweet but has a licorice taste. I prefer it with holy basil, but you I encourage you to explore both options if possible.
Process Overview
Step 1
Chop garlic, chop fresh basil leaves and chili pepper. Keep each separate aside.
Combine the stir-fry sauce ingredients, the soy sauce, oyster sauce and sugar.
Step 2
Fry for each serving an egg in a tablespoon of oil. Take out and keep aside.
Stir in the remaining oil, with the garlic and chili and stir-cook on a high heat for a minute.
Step 3
Briefly reduce heat, stir in your ground chicken and pour the stir-fry sauce over that.
Take back to full heat and stir cook for 1–2 minutes, breaking the chicken gradually apart.
Step 4
Add the chopped basil and continue to cook for another minute.
Take from the heat and serve up with the egg.
📖 Recipe
Thai Basil Chicken Stir-Fry
Ingredients
- 1 Clove Garlic large
- 8 Thai Chili fresh, you can reduce or decrease the quantity
- ½ Cup Holy Basil or Thai Sweet Basil
- 2 Teaspoon Sugar
- 1 Tablespoon Oyster Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
- 2 Tablespoon Oil 1+1
- 2 Egg
- 1 Pound Ground Chicken
- Chili and Basil extra chopped to use as topping
Instructions
- Prepare your fresh ingredients first. Chop your garlic small. Remove the chili stem and chop your chili small as well. Rinse your basil leaves and chop them up. Keep each ingredient separate.1 Clove Garlic, 8 Thai Chili, ½ Cup Holy Basil or Thai Sweet Basil
- Prepare the stir-fry sauce. Combine the sugar, oyster sauce and soy sauce in a small bowl. Keep aside.2 Teaspoon Sugar, 1 Tablespoon Oyster Sauce, 1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
- Heat a deep pan or a wok with 1 Tablespoon of the oil. Break in and fry your egg. Keep aside when done.2 Tablespoon Oil, 2 Egg
- Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to your pan or wok and keep on a high heat setting, while stir cooking your chopped garlic and Thai chili pepper for a minute or two.2 Tablespoon Oil
- Briefly reduce the heat a bit and stir in the ground chicken. Pour the stir-fry sauce over the chicken.1 Pound Ground Chicken
- Turn to a high heat setting and stir cook the chicken by breaking the chicken into smaller lumps. Do that for 2 minutes or so.
- Add the chopped basil and cook for another 2 minutes until all looks delicious, cooked through.
- Take your Thai basil chicken from the heat and plate it up with the fried egg. Garnish with some more chopped chili and basil. Serve up hot with rice.Chili and Basil
Nutrition
Serving
This dish is always served with steamed plain rice.
You can choose to add sautéed or stir-fried vegetables as a side, such as baby corn, spinach, and yard long beans.
Some people add these veggies also to the chicken during the cooking process, which is another option to add veggies to your dinner.
Storing
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container and stored in your refrigerator for up to 2 days. Reheat in a pan, in a microwave or in the oven.
I don't think it makes sense to freeze it because the dish is quickly prepared and it tastes better freshly made anyway.
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