WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS This traditional Thai street food features the bright flavor of basil in three ways. First, we ground a cup of basil leaves in the food processor with garlic and Thai chiles for a stir-fry base for the chicken. We removed a tablespoon of that base mixture to make a pungent sauce with ingredients including fish sauce and oyster sauce, which we added toward the end of cooking as a finishing sauce. Finally, we stirred another cup of fresh basil leaves into the dish right before serving, for a big pop of herbal flavor. This dish, called gai pad krapow, is normally very spicy; we halved the amount of chiles, cutting the amount of sugar by half as well to keep the flavors balanced. If fresh Thai chiles are unavailable, substitute two serranos or one medium jalapeño. In Thailand, red pepper flakes and sugar are passed at the table, along with extra fish sauce and white vinegar, so that the dish can be adjusted to suit individual tastes. Serve with steamed rice and vegetables, if desired.
Serves: 4
Total time: 40 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 cups fresh basil leaves
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled
- 6 green or red Thai chiles, stemmed
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce, plus extra for serving
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon sugar, plus extra for serving
- 1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar, plus extra for serving
- 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
- 3 shallots, sliced thin
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- Red pepper flakes
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Pulse 1 cup basil, garlic, and Thai chiles in food processor until finely chopped, 6 to 10 pulses, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Transfer 1 tablespoon basil mixture to small bowl and stir in 1 tablespoon fish sauce, oyster sauce, sugar, and vinegar; set aside. Transfer remaining basil
mixture to 12-inch nonstick skillet. - Pulse chicken and remaining 1 tablespoon fish sauce in now-empty food processor until meat is chopped into approximately ¼-inch pieces, 6 to 8 pulses. Transfer to bowl and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
- Stir shallots and oil into basil mixture in skillet. Heat over medium-low heat (mixture should start to sizzle after about 1½ minutes; if it doesn’t, adjust heat accordingly), stirring constantly, until garlic and shallots are golden brown, 5 to 8 minutes.
- Add chicken, increase heat to medium, and cook, stirring and breaking up chicken with rubber spatula, until only traces of pink remain, 2 to 4 minutes. Add reserved basil–fish sauce mixture and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until chicken is no longer pink, about 1 minute. Stir in remaining 1 cup basil and cook, stirring constantly, until basil is wilted, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Serve immediately, passing extra fish sauce, sugar, vinegar, and pepper flakes separately.
