Thai basil chicken comes together in less than 30 minutes, making it a great choice for busy weeknights. Garlic, Thai red chilies and a savory sauce coat ground chicken, while fresh Thai basil adds its signature flavor. Serve it over steamed rice for a restaurant quality dinner you'll want to make again and again.
One ingredient is worth talking about before you get started though: the basil.
Traditional Thai basil chicken is made with Thai holy basil, but Thai holy basil isn't easy to find. Even my closest international market, which is huge, doesn't carry it. Fortunately, regular Thai basil is much more common at grocery stores with Asian produce, and I actually think it's the better choice. It has a bold, peppery flavor with subtle anise notes that complements savory sauces perfectly in stir fries.
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Ingredients
- Ground chicken
- Cornstarch
- Oyster sauce
- Fish sauce
- Soy or tamari sauce
- Garlic
- Thai red chili peppers
- Thai basil
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Use this section for process shots, alternating between the step and image showing the step.
Step 1: Chop the garlic and Thai red chilies, pull the Thai basil leaves off the stem and mix the oyster sauce, fish sauce and soy sauce together in a small bowl. Set all aside.
Step 2: Add the raw ground chicken and the cornstarch to a medium bowl and mix until the cornstarch is fully incorporated.
Step 3: Heat a wok or large skillet over medium high heat. Once it's hot, add the oil and then the ground chicken mixture. Press down the chicken and allow it to cook for a minute or two before flipping. Stir fry the chicken, breaking it up with a spatula, until no large pieces remain and the chicken is almost cooked through. Stir in the garlic and Thai red chilies and cook for 30 to 60 seconds.
Step 4: Pour the sauce over the cooked chicken and stir until evenly coated.
Step 5: Add the Thai basil to the cooked chicken with the sauce.
Step 6: Stir until the Thai basil leaves are wilted.
Substitutions and Variations
- Gluten free - this Thai Basil chicken recipe can be gluten free as long as you use a gluten free tamari sauce instead of soy sauce as well as gluten free fish sauce and oyster sauce.
- Vegan - to make this recipe vegan, you would need to use a plant based ground chicken or beef crumble, and then use vegan versions of fish sauce and oyster sauce. I know vegan fish sauce exists, but I have not seen it in a store. I have seen vegan oyster sauce, so if you can only find vegan oyster sauce, you could substitute that for both.
- Thai basil - this dish is traditionally made with holy basil which can be hard to find. If you can find it, use it. Otherwise, regular Thai basil is perfect. If you can't find Thai basil, then you could use sweet basil plus some black pepper.
- Thai red chilies - Thai red chilies (also called bird's eye chilies) are becoming more and more common in grocery stores. If you cannot find Thai red chilies, you could use a Serrano pepper or half a jalapeño pepper.
- Ground chicken - minced chicken is more traditional for Thai basil chicken. For minced chicken, chop down chicken thighs or breasts into small, uneven pieces.
- Spice level - this recipe makes a medium spicy dish. To make it more spicy, add 1 to 2 more Thai red chili peppers. To make it less spicy, do not chop the 2 Thai red chilies, but rather add them whole to the skillet when you add the ground chicken. They will release only a small amount of heat into the chicken. Remove the whole chilies before serving.
Equipment
You'll need a wok or medium to large skillet for this recipe.
Storage
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days.
Next Level Tips
- It's best to pull Thai basil leaves off the stem for stir fries. This way, you don't get any of the wooden stems in the dish. Don't worry about large leaves, the Thai basil wilts down significantly and has a great texture once wilted.
- Why use cornstarch? This method comes from my ground chicken with green bean stir fry recipe. The cornstarch forms a light coating that improves the texture of the meat by keeping it moist and helping the sauce cling to the meat. It's a good technique for ground lean meats, but it's optional.
- For a more traditional method, grind the garlic and Thai red chilies with a mortar and pestle. Personally, I find that finely chopping is quicker and just as tasty, so chopping is my preference.
- There's no additional salt listed because tamari or soy sauce, oyster sauce and fish sauce are already salty. Different brands have different amounts of salt. When the dish is finished, taste it and add a little salt if needed at that time.
- So if you bought fish sauce for this recipe, what else can you use it for? Try Thai beef salad. It's a fresh, main dish salad made with tender steak, crisp vegetables and a zesty lime dressing that's quick to make and perfect for lunch or dinner.
- And if you bought oyster sauce for this recipe, what else can you use that for? You can use oyster sauce in place of the mushroom sauce in kimchi tofu stir fry with veggies. So good!
FAQ
Fish sauce is a salty, savory condiment made from fermented fish. It adds deep umami flavor to the sauce without making the dish taste fishy.
Oyster sauce is a thick, savory sauce made from oyster extract, soy sauce and seasonings. It adds richness and a slightly sweet, salty flavor to stir fries. Oyster sauce doesn't taste fishy either.
Jasmine rice is the traditional choice for Thai basil chicken because of its light, fragrant flavor. It's a long grain rice that's slightly sticky but not too sticky. You can also use another white rice, brown rice, wild rice or even cauliflower rice.
Tamari is a Japanese soy sauce that's made using a different fermentation process than regular soy sauce. It's typically made without wheat, giving it a richer, smoother flavor. Most brands are fully gluten free, but it's always a good idea to check the label if needed.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
Thai Basil Chicken
Equipment
- 1 Wok or large skillet
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon neutral oil
- 2-4 Thai red chili peppers* whole or finely minced *See Notes
- 3 cloves garlic finely minced
- 2 cups Thai basil leaves loosely packed
- 3 tablespoons oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy or tamari sauce
Instructions
- If serving with rice, start cooking the rice before preparing the chicken.
- In a small bowl, stir together the oyster sauce, fish sauce and soy/tamari sauce. Set aside. Pull the Thai basil leaves off the stems and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix the cornstarch with the raw ground chicken until evenly combined.
- Heat a wok or large skillet over medium high heat. Once it's hot, add the oil and then the ground chicken mixture. If you're using whole Thai red chili peppers, add them to the skillet with the ground chicken. Press down the chicken and allow it to cook for 1 to 2 minutes before flipping.
- Stir fry the chicken, breaking it up with a spatula as it cooks, until no large pieces remain and the chicken is almost cooked through.
- Stir in the minced garlic and any minced Thai red chilies. Continue stir frying for 30 to 60 seconds, stirring constantly, or until the chicken is fully cooked and reaches an internal temperature of 165°F.
- Pour the sauce over the chicken and stir until evenly coated.
- Add the Thai basil and stir until the leaves are wilted.
- Serve over cooked rice, if desired.
Notes
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