Thai basil chicken is the weeknight stir-fry: garlic and chiles pounded to a paste, ground chicken cooked hot and fast, a savory-sweet sauce of fish sauce, oyster sauce, and soy, and a full cup of Thai basil tossed through at the very end so it wilts in the residual heat. It goes over jasmine rice, often with a fried egg on top.
This is a home adaptation made with Thai basil, not a claim of street-style pad kra pao (which uses holy basil). If you can find holy basil, it is the more traditional choice — but Thai basil is what most home cooks can buy.
Ingredients
Serves 4.
- 2 tbsp neutral oil (vegetable or canola)
- 6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 3 Thai bird’s eye chiles, thinly sliced
- 1 lb (450 g) ground chicken
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 1/2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp soy sauce (regular, not dark)
- 2 tsp granulated sugar
- 1 cup loosely packed fresh Thai basil leaves, picked from stems
For serving: cooked jasmine rice and fried eggs (optional but standard with this dish).
Method
- Pound the garlic and chiles into a coarse paste with a mortar and pestle (or finely mince with a knife). Stir the fish sauce, oyster sauce, soy sauce, and sugar together in a small bowl.
- Heat the oil in a wok or large skillet over high heat until shimmering. Add the garlic-chili paste and stir-fry about 30 seconds, until fragrant but not browned.
- Add the ground chicken and cook, breaking it into small pieces with a spatula, until no longer pink. Do not crowd the pan or stir constantly — let the meat brown a little.
- Pour in the sauce mixture and stir-fry 2 minutes, until the sauce has mostly cooked down and coats the chicken. This dish should not be soupy; the meat absorbs most of the sauce.
- Turn off the heat, add the Thai basil, and toss until just wilted — seconds, using residual heat.
- Serve over cooked jasmine rice. A fried egg on top is the standard accompaniment in Thailand.
Tips and ingredient notes
- Thai basil vs. holy basil: Thai basil is sweet with anise notes; holy basil (kra pao) is peppery and the traditional choice for pad kra pao. Use what you can find and name it plainly.
- Heat: three bird’s eye chiles is medium-hot. Start with fewer if you are sensitive to heat.
- Browning: resist stirring constantly — letting the meat sit undisturbed builds the little caramelized bits that make the dish.
Storage and food safety
Allergen note: contains fish (fish sauce), soy (soy sauce), and shellfish (oyster sauce). Ground chicken must reach a safe minimum internal temperature of 165°F (74°C) with no pink remaining (FoodSafety.gov). Refrigerate leftovers promptly; reheat to 165°F.
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