Thai Basil Chicken with Chili Garlic Sauce

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Spicy Thai basil chicken stir-fried with fresh basil and Thai garlic sauce. This is weeknight cooking at its best! Cook this delicious dish in 15 minutes and serve with rice noodles or jasmine rice.

Thai basil chicken — pad krapow gai — hits all the taste buds. Sweet, spicy, hot and garlicky — plus it’s full of fresh vegetables and a flavor-bomb sauce.

This dish scores in the top five of my favorite one-dish-and-done dinners.

I really want you to try this recipe, because I have a feeling you’re going to crave it over and over again.

I’ve been cooking versions of this Thai basil sauce for years, and never get tired of it.

The fact that it’s still on regular rotation says a lot about how good it is!

It’s definitely a recipe you’ll want in your dinnertime bag of tricks.

While by no means authentic, this totally mouthwatering chicken hits all the flavor buttons for me.

When it comes to Thai basil chicken, it’s always my favorite thing to order from the local Thai restaurant.

This is a spicy, tasty recipe to throw together when you want something wholesome and homemade, but just as hunger-satisfying as your favorite takeout.

Not that into chicken?

Try substituting an equal amount of thinly sliced beef or pork tenderloin for the chicken, or use tofu and stir-fried vegetables to make this a vegetarian main.

Ingredients in Thai Basil Chicken

This dish is has a handful of fresh ingredients, along with Asian condiments you might already have in the pantry:

• Fish Sauce
• Chili Garlic Sauce
• Soy Sauce or Shoyu 
• Sugar or honey
• Fresh basil (Thai or Sweet basil)
• Boneless chicken thigh or breast meat
• Garlic
• Red onion
• Fresh red chili pepper
• Red bell pepper

Chili garlic sauce is key to making this dish  — it’s not very hot all by itself, but it has a wonderful savory flavor.

Make it your own

• Like it spicy-hot? Just use more chili pepper to your taste
• Sprinkle crushed peanuts or cashews on each serving
• Stir in greens such as spinach or chopped bok choy
• Add chopped scallion or green onion
• Substitute ground chicken, pork or chopped shrimp or use cubed firm tofu

More fast and delicious weeknight dinners:

• Sweet and Spicy Gochujang Chicken
• Thai Steak Salad
• Frozen Vegetable Stir-Fry

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Thai Basil Chicken with Chili Garlic Sauce

Karen Tedesco

The BEST 30-minute Thai basil chicken recipe, packed with fresh, flavorful ingredients. Not only does it taste fantastic, it's so much healthier than ordering takeout.

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4.91 from 20 votes

Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 15 mins

Total Time 25 mins

Course Chicken

Cuisine Thai

Servings 6 servings

Ingredients

• ▢ 3 tablespoons fish sauce
• ▢ 2 tablespoons sake or dry sherry (optional)
• ▢ 1½ pounds boneless skinless chicken (breasts or thighs)
• ▢ 2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
• ▢ 1 tablespoon sugar or honey
• ▢ 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce
• ▢ 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• ▢ 1 tablespoon water
• ▢ 2 tablespoons toasted peanut oil or other high-heat vegetable oil
• ▢ 1 red bell pepper, sliced into 1/4-inch strips
• ▢ 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• ▢ 2-3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• ▢ 1 or 2 fresh red hot chili peppers such as Thai or habanero depending on your heat preference, thinly sliced
• ▢ 2 cups fresh Thai basil or sweet basil leaves

Garnish suggestions

• ▢ Crushed roasted peanuts
• ▢ Fresh sliced cucumber
• ▢ Cooked jasmine rice or rice noodles
• ▢ Chopped green onions

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Instructions 

• Stir together 1 tablespoon of the fish sauce with the sake (if using) in a mixing bowl. Slice the chicken into 1/2-inch chunks. Add the chicken to the bowl and toss to coat. 
• To make the sauce, stir together the remaining 2 tablespoons fish sauce in a small bowl with the soy sauce, sugar, chili garlic sauce, cornstarch and water until sugar is dissolved. 
• Heat a large (12-inch) cast iron skillet or wok over medium-high heat until very hot. Add the oil and the chicken to the pan and cook, stirring frequently, until the meat is seared and cooked through, 10 – 12 minutes.
• Add the bell pepper and onion and continue cooking and stirring until the onions are softened, about 1 minute, then stir in the garlic and chili pepper.
• Stir in the soy sauce mixture and bring to a boil. Cook for another minute, then remove from the heat and add the basil leaves. 
• Serve over cooked rice or rice noodles to soak up the delicious sauce.

Karen’s Notes and Tips

• Make this dish as spicy as you want with more (or less) fresh red chili, or add crushed red chili.
• Instead of chicken, use with turkey or pork, peeled shrimp or cubed firm tofu.

Nutrition

Calories: 218kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 24g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 1414mg | Potassium: 427mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 1087IU | Vitamin C: 29mg | Calcium: 34mg | Iron: 2mg

Did you make this recipe? Mention @Familystylefood or tag #familystylefood on Instagram

Hey, I’m Karen

Creator of Familystyle Food

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I’m a food obsessed super-taster and professionally trained cook ALL about creating elevated dinners with everyday ingredients. Find simplified recipes made from scratch and enjoy incredibly tasty food! Read more about me here.

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