Thai-style Chicken with Chillies and Basil: after-work yumminess!

Thai-style Chicken with Chillies and Basil served on a bed of egg-fried rice

You can't beat a Ken Hom recipe for its freshness, tastiness and simplicity. Everyone should give him a go! This recipe caught my eye because of the use of basil. I was determined not to let my basil plant wither away on the window sill while I tried to get myself organised during a particularly busy week. My natural instincts were to look for an Italian recipe using basil, and this time I wanted to avoid using up the whole plant to make homemade pesto which I'd put in the freezer and use later, as it seemed too convenient and not very challenging! However there is nothing challenging about this recipe, it is so simple and delicious that I've made it several times since the first time I took the photos! Another brilliant aspect to the recipe is that it uses boneless, skinless chicken thighs - such underrated parts of the chicken but far more tasty and succulent than  chicken breasts, oh and cheaper of course!

I'm afraid again, this is a book that I've never cooked from before and have only owned for a couple of months after buying it at the Ingham village fete in the summer. My other trusty Ken Hom book I've used loads of times and no doubt that will be making an appearance in the coming year. This book though is called Ken Hom Cooks Thai (1999) http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ken-Hom-Cooks-Thai/dp/0747276099/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1351464978&sr=1-1

The recipe can be found on page 118. Flicking through the rest of the book there does seem to be a a lot of ingredients in many of the recipes, however, don't let that put you off. Once you stock your store cupboard with essentials like soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, Shaoxing rice wine (or as I use dry sherry), sesame oil, there isn't often  too much else that you need to hunt out. Hom's recipes are so reliable and tasty, it is so worth cooking from scratch and not reaching for a jar of ready-made sauce! In case you are wondering what other delights there are in this book, I'm already planning to make the Delectable Duck and Pineapple Curry on page 135 and the Hot and Sour Prawns on page 109 and incidentally both recipes require basil leaves, so lets hope there's some life in that plant yet!

My vibrant basil plant

Thai-style Chicken with Chillies and Basil (copyright 1999 Promo Group Limited)

Serves 4

450g boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 tsp light soy sauce
2 tsp Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp cornflour
1 stalk fresh lemongrass
1 tbsp groundnut oil (peanut oil)
3 tbsp finely sliced shallots
2 tbsp coarsely chopped garlic
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
2 tsp lime zest
3 large fresh red or green chillies, seeded and finely sliced
2 tsp sugar
large handful basil leaves

Stir-fry marinade

Some of the key ingredients

1. Cut the chicken in to 2.5cm chunks and combine it in the bowl with the light soy sauce, rice wine, sesame oil and cornflour. Allow it to marinate for about 20 minutes.
2. Peel the lemongrass to reveal the tender whitish centre and cut into 5cm pieces. Smash with the flat of a knife.
3. Heat a wok or large frying pan until very hot, then add the groundnut oil. When the oil is hot, add the lemongrass and chicken. Stir-fry for 5 minutes, until the chicken is brown.
4. Pour the contents of the wok into a steel colander and drain. After a minute or so, reheat the wok and return the drained chicken and lemongrass to it

Stir-frying the chicken 

5. Add the rest of the ingredients except the basil and continue to cook for another 8-10 minutes, stirring from time to time.

Sliced chillies.

6. When the chicken is cooked, add the basil leaves and give the mixture a good stir. You can remove the lemongrass stalks before serving.

Finally adding the basil

Very handy for cheating!

Tips: I used Bart's lemongrass as I couldn't get hold of any of the fresh stuff so therefore just let it melt in to the rest of the ingredients. My handful of basil wasn't enough. If you've got a plant like mine, don't skimp! It soon wilts to not very much at all! I also chopped up onion instead of the shallots as I've got a glut of them too.

Cooking up those tasty dishes

I either serve it with homemade egg-fried rice (as pictured) or with sesame noodles (delicious peanut and sesame dressed noodles). If we are feeling extra hungry, I'll stir-fry separately some baby corn, carrots, broccoli and mushrooms.