Thai Basil Stir-Fry with Chicken

By being Thai, I always have so many people asking me about Thai food. I have to say our food is not always spicy as many people think. It is just tasty and has many flavor when you eat. Here's one of my favorite dish. Unfortunately this dish is a spicy dish. And this recipe has been adapt to North American ingredients.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Serving: 4 (with rice)

Ingredients:

• 3/4 lb. chicken breast, sliced into bite-size pieces
• 4-5 cloves garlic, chopped fine
• 1-2 fresh red chilies, chopped fine, OR 1/2 to 3/4 tsp. dried crushed chili (chili flakes) add more or less depends how spicy you like.
• 3 Tbsp. white wine OR white cooking wine
• 2 small bell peppers: red and yellow, sliced (Our authentic recipe, we don't put bell peppers in. This could be optional.)
• 1 small green pepper OR 1/2 zucchini, chopped into bite-size pieces (Our authentic recipe, we don't put green pepper or zucchini in. This could be optional.)
• 3 green onions, sliced
• 1/2 compressed cup Thai basil (Thai holy basil), OR substitute sweet basil. (I know it's hard to find Holy basil in North America in some area.)
• 2-3 Tbsp. vegetable oil

STIR-FRY SAUCE:

• 3 Tbsp. oyster sauce 
• 3 Tbsp. Golden Mountain Sauce (depending on desired saltiness) 
• 1 Tbsp. fish sauce
• 1 Tbsp. lime juice
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar

Instructions:

1. Combine the 'Stir-Fry Sauce' ingredients together in a cup, stirring to dissolve sugar. Spoon 2 Tbsp. of this sauce over prepared chicken and stir in. Set aside to marinate a few minutes while you prepare your other ingredients. Set remaining stir-fry sauce aside.
2. Heat a wok or large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add oil and swirl around, then add the garlic and chili. Stir-fry 1 minute or until it start to smell really good, then add the chicken plus a splash of white wine. Stir-fry until chicken for about 3 minutes. Add a little more white wine as needed to keep pan moist.
3. Add the bell peppers and zucchini, plus 3/4 of the stir-fry sauce you made earlier. Stir-fry until vegetables have softened but still retain some of their crispness (about 2 minutes).
4. Reduce heat to medium-low and add the sliced green onions, plus remaining stir-fry sauce. Stir together (note that this is meant to be a saucy dish - this is where the flavor is).
5. Remove from heat and fold in the fresh basil (basil will wilt down into the hot sauce).
6. Serve with plenty of plain steamed jasmine rice and garnish with more fresh basil. ENJOY!

Taste-test Tip: Note that this classic Thai dish is meant to be salty-spicy, with the zesty flavor of the basil coming through. It is definitely supposed to veer on the salty side, which is then balanced out when you eat it with plain steam rice. If you still find it too salty for your taste, add more lime juice. If not salty or flavorful enough, add more golden mountain sauce and/or fish sauce.