So I found a recipe online for Spicy Basil Chicken, but didn't have all of the ingredients on hand, so I kind of created my own concoction. My Habanero is not a huge fan of really spicy stuff, so I tried to tone down the heat a bit, and when all was said and done, his declaration was "Spicy, but good!"
I'll take it.
Tanilee's Thai Basil Chicken
1 Tbsp olive oil
3 cloves chopped fresh garlic
1/3 cup diced onion
couple shakes of crushed red pepper
2 tsp thai chili garlic paste
2 Tbsp canned, diced green chilis
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 1/2-2 tsp sugar (to taste)
1-2 Tbsp fish sauce (super salty, so don't over-do it)
2-3 Tbsp hoisin sauce ( LOVE this stuff)
1 bunch chopped green onions (use the green part too, does that go without saying?)
1 red bell pepper, roughly chopped
1 big bunch basil leaves, roughly chopped
Heat oil in non-stick skillet and saute garlic and onion until they start to turn golden. Add crushed red pepper, then chili paste and green chilis. Cook another minute, then add chicken. Season with garlic salt, black pepper and sugar. Cook until chicken is almost done.
Add fish sauce and hoisin sauce and incorporate into the chicken mixture. Add green onions and bell pepper. Cook until peppers are crisp tender and chicken is fully cooked. Turn off heat and stir in basil.
Serve over your favorite rice.
**NOTE: You can do a lot of different things with this recipe. If you don't have fish sauce, use oyster sauce. If you don't like peppers, use mushrooms instead. Most of the ingredients in this recipe could have a little "to taste" note beside them. The main thing I think is if you are not familiar with the thai seasonings, taste them before you add them to the dish so you know what you're getting yourself into.
Are you CERTAIN that you used fish sauce? I can hardly stand to go within a mile of that stuff when the lid's off. I made a pad thai dish for Jared on his b-day and could hardly stomach the finished product, (thought Jared loved it) because of the nastiness of the fish taste. Seriously--more like rotting fish sauce to me... just an opinion.
ReplyDeleteYeah, fish sauce is pretty potent stuff, that's why I used it sparingly and then added the hoisin sauce. Have you ever cooked with hoisin? It's pretty japanese bbq sauce heaven in a bottle. I use it in almost all my asian food. Great in stir fry's etc. The original recipe called for oyster sauce but I've never used that so I don't know how it compares to fish sauce.
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