Stir Fry Chicken with Basil

 

Is this a vietnamese dish or a thai dish? You can find this on both thai and vietnamese menu.  In any case, hubs and I love both.  During our trip to Hanoi last year, we stayed with an old friend who is now a high flying expat working in the vietnamese capital.




He took us to all the fabulous food joints that only locals would know, even one where Anthony Bourdain dined at.  Boy, we ate like there was no tomorrow.  The yummiest pho, finger licking good soft shell crabs, great Hue cuisine and loads more.  One of the dishes that we always ordered is this stir fry chicken with basil.  

My mum gave me a big bunch of fresh basil the other day so i decided to make this dish.  I used kampung chicken, whereby the flesh is a bit more chewy, but is so much more flavorful than the regular chicken meat bought from supermarkets. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a very simple dish to cook, but great flavour.  If you like basil, feel free to add more than the recommended quantity here, but just be careful that the liquorice flavor does not overwhelm the entire dish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stir Fry Chicken with Basil

• 3 chicken drumsticks, chopped into large chunks
• 1 cup fresh thai basil leaves, roughly shredded
• 3 pips garlic, chopped
• 5 slices of ginger
• 1 tbs oyster sauce
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp normal cooking oil
• Salt and pepper

 

 

1. Boil some water and pour the boiling water over the chicken meat to blanch for one minute. Drain and set aside. 

2. Heat the oil and fry the garlic and ginger until fragrant. Add the chicken meat and fry until lightly browned all over. 

3. Add the seasonings and 2 tbs water. Bring to a boil, turn down the fire and let simmer for 10 min. Stir occassionally to prevent the bottom from burning. 

4. By now the gravy would have thicken quite nicely. Add the basil leaves and give a few stir, and add a pinch of salt and pepper to taste.  Dish up and serve warm with steam rice.