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4.9 from 447 votes

Thai Chilli Basil Chicken

Recipe video above. Right off the streets of Thailand, made in your own home! Spicy, garlicky and savoury with a hint of sweet. Gold standard Thai chicken stir fry, quick to make and no hunting down unusual ingredients.

Prep Time
10 mins
Cook Time
10 mins
Total Time
15 mins
Servings: 2
Calories: 360 kcal
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Thai

Ingredients

  • 225g / 7oz chicken thigh fillets , skinless boneless, cut into bite size pieces
  • 1 green onion , cut into 4cm / 2" lengths.
  • 1 cup Thai basil leaves , loosely packed (Holy Basil if you can find it) (Note 1)
  • 2 garlic cloves , large, finely chopped (Note 2)
  • 1 birds eye or Thai chilli , deseeded and finely chopped
  • 1 1/2 tbsp oil (peanut, vegetable or canola)
Sauce
  • 2 tsp oyster sauce
  • 1 tsp light soy sauce (Note 3)
  • 1 tsp dark soy sauce (or all purpose) (Note 3)
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 2 tbsp water
Serving
  • Steamed jasmine rice

Instructions

    Cup of Yum
  1. Put Sauce ingredients in a small bowl and mix to combine.
  2. Heat oil in wok or pan over high heat.
  3. Add garlic and chilli and cook for 10 seconds. Don't inhale - the chilli will make you cough!
  4. Add the white part of the green onions and chicken and fry until cooked, around 2 minutes.
  5. Add Sauce and cook for 1 minute until the water reduces to make a thick glossy sauce.
  6. Toss through green part of green onions and basil leaves. Stir until just wilted, then serve immediately with steamed jasmine rice.

Notes

  • Holy Basil is the type of Thai basil used in the authentic recipe. It has a more aniseedy / peppery flavour than normal sweet basil used in Italian cooking, and is available at some Thai groceries.
  • Thai Basil is the more common type of basil that is sold at supermarkets here in Australia (Coles, Woolies, Harris Farms) and used in Thai restaurants.  Because my closest Asian store is a trek away, I usually make this with Thai Basil.
  • If you can't find Thai or Holy Basil, this is still totally worth making using normal basil. The sauce has a strong flavour and dominates, the basil is the fragrant accent flavour.
  • Garlic - Finely chopping the garlic rather than minced it (or using jarred garlic) stops it from burning quickly and spitting when it hits the hot wok.
  • Soy sauces - can sub light soy sauce or both the light and dark soy with ordinary all purpose soy (like Kikkoman). Or can use just light soy sauce. Flavour not quite as intense as it should be and colour will be paler, but still super tasty.
  • Do not use JUST dark soy sauce, flavour will be too intense.
  • Serving size - This recipe makes one giant serving or 2 reasonable sized servings. Complete the meal with a simple side of juicy slices of cucumber and tomato with no dressing - this is very Thai! Refreshing accompaniment to spicy Thai food.
  • Nutrition per serving excluding rice.

Nutrition Information

Serving 160g Calories 360cal (18%) Carbohydrates 5g (2%) Protein 19g (38%) Fat 29g (45%) Saturated Fat 6g (30%) Cholesterol 110mg (37%) Sodium 588mg (25%) Potassium 231mg (7%) Fiber 1g (4%) Sugar 2g (4%) Vitamin A 148IU (3%) Vitamin C 2mg (2%) Calcium 14mg (1%) Iron 1mg (6%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 2Serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories 360

% Daily Value*

Serving 160g
Calories 360cal 18%
Carbohydrates 5g 2%
Protein 19g 38%
Fat 29g 45%
Saturated Fat 6g 30%
Cholesterol 110mg 37%
Sodium 588mg 25%
Potassium 231mg 5%
Fiber 1g 4%
Sugar 2g 4%
Vitamin A 148IU 3%
Vitamin C 2mg 2%
Calcium 14mg 1%
Iron 1mg 6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.