I had about 2 cups of fresh basil lying around (and this time of year its not cheap to get that much basil, so I had to use it!) and wanted to make a simple stir fry. Luckily I keep a well stocked pantry and I had all of the ingredients lying around my kitchen. This is my version of a common Thai dish, but I've improvised when I can't get my hands on chili peppers, using chili oil.
1 lbs chicken breasts, cut into thin strips
1 tbsp wok oil (or vegetable oil)
2 tbsp chili oil
3 scallions, chopped white and some green parts
2 bell peppers (i used red and orange), thinly sliced
5 cloves of garlic, chopped fine
3 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup packed, basil leaves
2 cups Jasmine rice, cooked
Heat a wok, over high heat. When the wok smokes, add wok oil and chili oil. Sprinkle in crushed pepper flakes. Add chicken and stir fry 2 minutes. Add scallions, red bell peppers, and garlic and stir-fry for 1 or 2 more minutes. Add fish sauce. Remove the pan from heat and add basil. Toss chicken dish until basil wilts. Serve over rice.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Spicy Basil Chicken Stir Fry
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9 comments:
Meghan, This looks so colorful,healthy, and delicious!I know what you mean about using up basil that you buy, I can't stand to waste it either. Basil is my favorite herb and I grow tons of it in the summer, and I get real spoiled just going out and getting it when I want, but unfortunately our season dosen't last that long, so I end up buying it fall, winter and most of the spring.I just saw on my TV that there are blizzard conditions coming and the temp is going down to 2 degrees!!! Yuk!
I stir-fry often, with the traditional Asian ingredients...would have never thought to add basil. Interesting! Will definitely give it a try!
xo
Meghan, I'm itching for fresh basil.
This looks like a quick & easy weeknight meal and filling with jasmine rice.
Oh WoW! This stirfry looks absolutely delicious! I just have to give it a try. For some reason, I always feel intimidated making stirfrys but I am dying to give it another try. Nice Recipe =D
Shandy@Pastry Heaven
That looks tasty! It is often fun trying to come up with recipes to use that left over something with things that are on hand.
i love thai food... i love fresh basil... and i love a good stir fry! this dish looks wonderful! thanks for sharing the recipe
That looks so good! (I'm pretending the chicken is tofu.) I love Thai food but I never think to make stir fries with basil even though I order them half the time I get Thai food.
Roopa,
I was going to write something about how great tofu would be in this dish, but I look to you, my vegetarian friend, to recommend proper prep and cooking. Would you marinade the tofu first? Let me know your thoughts!
Here's what I do with tofu if I’m not lazy or in a rush – and I’m usually one or the other :)
Cut the tofu into 1" thick slabs. Line a large cutting board or a plate with a double layer of paper towels, put the tofu on top, put two more layers of paper towels on top, and then put a pan with a big book on top of it to press out the water. If I’m going to marinate the tofu overnight I leave it for about 30 minutes or I’ll just do it for 10 minutes if I want to use it right away. I like to marinade the tofu overnight in a Ziploc bag. Otherwise I’ll just toss the pressed tofu with some sort of marinade and let it sit for 15 minutes or so.
I have a bunch of tofu recipes on my blog so just search for “tofu” and you’ll find them.
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