SPICY THAI BASIL CHICKEN FRIED RICE

 INGREDIENTS

For the Chicken Marinade:

• 250 grams (0.55 lbs) Chicken Thighs, boneless, skinless – cleaned and pat-dried, excess fat trimmed, and cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 TSP Light Soy Sauce
• 1 TSP Fish Sauce
• ¼ TSP ground White Pepper

For the Sauce:

• 3 TBLS Oyster Sauce
• 1 TBLS Light Soy Sauce
• ½ TBLS Sweet Dark Soy Sauce
• 1 TSP White Sugar
• 1 TBLS Water (or chicken broth)

For the Spicy Thai Basil Chicken Fried Rice:

• 6–7 Garlic cloves – roughly chopped
• 6–10 Red Chilies (Bird’s eye preferred, but Holland or any other small chilies will work too.), to taste – cut into halves or thirds depending on length
• 4–10 Green Chilies (Bird’s eye preferred, but Holland or any other small chilies will work too.), to taste – cut into halves or thirds depending on length
• ¾ Yellow Onion – sliced into ¼-inch thick pieces
• 1 Large Red Chili – deseeded if desired and thinly sliced at an angle (reserve a few pieces for garnish)
• 1.5 cups Thai Holy Basil Leaves (substitute with Italian basil or Thai sweet basil if unavailable) – washed and dried
• 2 TBLS Canola Oil (or any other cooking oil with a high smoke point)
• 3 cups cooked Thai rice (or use any other long-grain rice, day old rice works best)
• To Serve: Cucumber slices, fish sauce with chopped chilies if desired.

INSTRUCTIONS

Prep:

• Marinate the chicken: Clean and trim off any excess fat from the chicken thighs. Then cut into bite-sized pieces and add to a medium sized mixing bowl. Add the light soy sauce, fish sauce, and ground white pepper. Mix with a spoon until combined well, then set aside.
• Prepare the fresh ingredients: Roughly chop the garlic and red and green Bird’s eye chilies. Then smash them into a coarse paste using a mortar and pestle. Slice the yellow onion, and thinly slice the large red chili at an angle. Set aside a few pieces for garnish. Pick the holy basil leaves off the stems, then wash and dry them with some paper towels. Set everything aside.
• Make the sauce: Combine the oyster sauce, light soy sauce, sweet dark soy sauce, sugar, and water in a measuring cup or small bowl. Mix until evenly combined and set aside.

For the Spicy Thai Basil Chicken Fried Rice:

• Cook chicken: Heat the canola oil in a large wok over high heat. Once hot, add the chicken and cook for 1-2 minutes, until no longer pink and the pieces start to brown.
• Cook onion, garlic chili paste, and large red chili: Add the onion and cook for 30 seconds. Then add the smashed garlic chili paste and large red chili slices. Stir-fry for 30 seconds to combine. (Note: Open a window or turn on the exhaust fan if needed. It can become quite smoky and pungent.)
• Add rice and sauce: Add the rice and pour the sauce on top. Stir-fry for a minute, breaking up the clumps of rice as you go, until the rice is evenly coated in the sauce.
• Toss through holy basil: Add the holy basil leaves and toss for 30 seconds until wilted, then switch off the heat.
• To Serve: Place two pieces of the reserved large red chili slices in a bowl. Spoon the fried rice into the bowl and press down with the spoon until even. Then tip onto a plate. Repeat for the remaining servings. Serve with cucumber slices, and fish sauce with chopped chilies on the side if desired. (Note: Alternatively, you can just plate the fried rice and garnish with the chili slices if you’re not particular about presentation.)