Chicken and Basil Stir Fry

Posted by Deb Puchalla

Whenever we go out for Thai -- or order in, which is more likely these days -- John gets chicken with basil.

This homemade one-pan version includes chicken, onions, red and green peppers, and lots of basil, plus a couple of Asian pantry staples.

I keep soy sauce and rice vinegar on hand, which star in this dish's sauce along with several cloves of garlic. I try to have the cupboard stocked with toasted sesame oil, fish sauce, and hoisin so I'm ready when a hankering for Asian hits.

Over on the radio blog, Sandy discussed how to put together a pantry of everyday Asian ingredients.

Which Asian grocery items do you like best?

Prep Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes

See the Recipes:
Chicken and Basil Stir Fry

 

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Comments

[Christina]

This sounds so easy and delicious! I have a TON of basil (not Thai) on hand and think this would make a perfect Saturday night dinner.
Question- do you really season the chicken AFTER you toss it with cornstarch? It seems like it would stick to it as well.

[Rachel]

Pantry must haves are 5 spice powder, light and dark soy sauce, sesame oil, hoison and oyster sauce, ground white pepper and black bean paste.

[Deb Puchalla]

Christina,
Yup, the cornstarch works almost like when you dredge in flour--but as the chicken cooks it helps to better thicken the sauce. Works like a charm! Let me know what you think.

[Deb Puchalla]

Rachel, love 5 spice powder and of course soy and sesame and hoisin. I've never used black bean paste. Do you have a recipe or an example of how I could give it a try? thanks!

[matt]

I'm a fan of basil in any form and can tell I'm really going to love this recipe. Sometimes chicken can be so-so and not the most exciting thing ever but this recipe looks so flavorful and quick. Love it!

As for my regular asian staples that I absolutely must have on hand: soy sauce, ginger and fish sauce and vegetarian fish sauce (yes, vegetarian!) It's such a concentrated taste but really adds that dimension to my stir frys like no other ingredient. Ok, off to discover the radio blog -- I had no idea it existed!

[Rasa Malaysia]

Hi Deb, thanks for adding me to your Twitter.
I cook Asian and Southeast Asian food a lot--Malaysian, Thai, Nyonya, etc., and this is the kind of dish I would love to cook up. Instead of using rice vinegar, you can try adding a dash of "Nam Prik Pao" or toasted Thai chili paste to give it an extra kick. Try it next time.

My favorite Asian grocery item is bean sprouts lately. I noticed that the Asian restaurants in the US don't use much of it, but adding bean sprouts to fried noodles just add so much texture and "crunchiness" to a simple noodle dish. Going to post my fried rice sticks recipe soon. :)