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Thai Basil Chicken: A Quick and Flavorful Weeknight Favorite
Thai basil chicken is one of those dishes that’s simple, versatile, and always full of bold, delicious flavor. You can make it with cubed chicken breast or ground chicken—either way, it’s quick to stir-fry and comes out tasting incredible.
If you want to take it to the next level, serve it with a sunny-side-up egg. Let the yolk melt into the hot basil chicken, and every bite becomes rich, silky, and absolutely heavenly. It’s such a simple addition, but it makes the dish feel extra special.
This is one of my favorite recipes when I have a surplus of basil in the garden. There’s nothing better than tossing a big handful of fresh basil into the pan and letting it wilt into the chicken, releasing that signature aroma.
It’s the perfect weeknight meal—fast, flavorful, and satisfying. Just serve it over a bowl of steamed rice, and dinner is ready in no time.
Spicy Thai Basil Chicken
Ingredients
Marinade:
- 3 lbs ground chicken, or chicken breast cut into one-inch pieces
- ½ tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp fish sauce
Aromatics:
- 4 garlic cloves, chopped
- 1 large shallot, chopped
- ¼ cup Thai chili peppers, chopped
Sauce:
- 1 Tbsp fish sauce
- 1 Tbsp oyster sauce
- ½ Tbsp Maggi, or soy sauce
- ½ cup low sodium chicken broth
- ¼ cup mushroom powder
- 1 Tbsp chili paste
Caramel Sauce:
- ¼ cup oil
- ¼ cup sugar
Topping:
- 3 cups basil, thinly sliced
- 1 egg sunny side up, optional
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine all marinade ingredients together and set aside.
- In a small bowl, combine all the sauce ingredients together. Mix well and set aside.
- I find it best to use a rubber spatula during the cooking process so the caramel sauce does not stick to the spatula.
- In a large skillet, over medium high heat, add oil and sugar to make the caramel sauce. Stir occasionally until you see an amber color and the sugar is fully melted. This will take around 2-3 minutes. Do not burn this part, and if you do, then start all over again.
- Once sugar is melted, add garlic, shallots and chili peppers.
- Cook the aromatics for a couple of minutes and then add the marinated chicken.
- Mix well and cook chicken untouched for 3 minutes, then toss and cook for another 3 minutes, untouched.
- With your spatula, break apart the chicken by “stabbing” and chopping it to separate the chicken pieces. Pour the sauce over the chicken and thoroughly combine. Turn heat on to high and stir occasionally for another 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat and stir in basil.
- Serve with a bowl of rice.
Optional:
- If using one inch chicken breast pieces instead of ground chicken: Follow the steps above, however, instead of cooking for 5 minutes at the end, you will need to cook it for 20 minutes on medium high instead of high, occasionally stirring.
Nutrition
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