Go Back
Cooked chicken stir-fry with red bell peppers, onions, and basil served with white rice on a plate.
Print Recipe
5 from 1 vote

Spicy Thai Basil Chicken

Spicy chicken sauteed with thai basil and vegetables.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Total Time30 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Thai
Servings: 4
Calories: 278kcal
Author: Dana Rao

Ingredients

Chicken Marinade

  • 1 pound chicken breast thinly sliced
  • 1 teaspoon fish sauce
  • 1 tablespoon corn starch
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 2 tablespoon water

Stir Fry

  • 1 tablespoon neutral oil
  • marinated chicken
  • 1 tablespoon lemongrass paste or fresh lemongrass optional
  • 2 Thai Chilis add more if you like extra spicy
  • 4 cloves garlic minced
  • ½ white onion sliced
  • 1 red bell pepper chopped
  • 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
  • 1 tablespoon fish sauce
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoon water
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • ¼ pound Thai Basil roughly chopped
  • ½ squeeze of lemon or lime garnish

Instructions

Marinate Chicken

  • Thinly slice chicken breast and place in a bowl.
  • Add fish sauce, corn starch, olive oil, salt, sugar and water to chicken. Mix together in one direction to help with myosin development, which yields more tender chicken. Marinate for 10 minutes while you prep the stir fry ingredients.

Prepare Stir-Fry

  • Chop onions, garlic, thai chilis, basil and bell pepper. Place on a separate plate for easy stir fry in the next step.

Sitr-Fry

  • Heat wok or pan to high. Once the wok gets really hot (smoke is coming out), add 1 tablespoon oil. Fry marinated chicken for one minute.
  • Take chicken out of pan once you see some browning. Your chicken should be 80% done (don't worry we will stir fry it again). Place on a separate plate.
  • Heat wok on high again and add another tablespoon of oil. Fry garlic, onions, red bell pepper, and Thai chilis.
  • Add chicken (from step 5) back in. Then, add lemongrass (optional), oyster sauce, soy sauce, water, and sugar to the stir fry and mix together quickly so the ingredients don't burn.
  • Fry for 2-3 minutes until the chicken is cooked through and add in the thai basil. Hope you enjoy with hot white rice or a fresh salad!

Notes

Expert Tips
  • Prep Ahead: I recommend chopping all your ingredients prior to stir frying. The stir fry process takes 5 minutes and if you're not ready, the ingredients can easily burn.
  • High Heat Cooking: Stir-fry over high heat to create a smoky wok-charred flavor. Traditionally, this dish is cooked on a wok if you want better flavor.
  • Control the Spice: Use Thai bird’s eye chilies for authentic heat. The flavor is unbeatable and if you use a different chili pepper, the taste will not be as authentic.