Chicken, Thai Chicken with Basil

By MarieR

Ingredients

• 2 2 2 cups fresh basil leaves, tightly packed
• 3 3 3 garlic cloves, peeled
• 6 6 6 green or red Thai chiles, stemmed
• 2 2 1 tablespoons fish sauce, plus extra for serving 1 tablespoon oyster-flavored sauce
• 1 1 1 tablespoon sugar, plus extra for serving
• 1 1 1 teaspoon white vinegar, plus extra for serving
• 1 1 2-inch pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
• 3 3 3 shallots, peeled and thinly sliced (about
• 3/4 3/4 3/4 CUP)
• 2 2 2 tablespoons vegetable oil Red pepper flakes, for serving

Details

Servings 4
Preparation time 25mins
Cooking time 55mins

Preparation

Step 1

1. Pulse 1 cup of the basil leaves, the garlic, and chiles in a food processor until chopped fine, 6 to 10 pulses, scraping down the sides of the bowl once during processing. Transfer 1 tablespoon of the basil mixture to a small bowl, stir in 1 tablespoon of the fish sauce, the oyster-flavored sauce, sugar, and vinegar, and set aside. Transfer the remaining basil mixture to a 12-inch heavy-bottomed nonstick skillet. (Do not wash processor bowl.)
2. Pulse the chicken and the remaining 1 tablespoon fish sauce in the food processor until the meat is chopped into !4-inch pieces, 6 to 8 pulses.Transfer the chicken to a medium bowl and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
3. Stir the shallots and oil into the basil mixture in the skillet. Heat the mixture over medium-low heat (the mixture should start to sizzle after about l'/2 minutes; if it doesn't, adjust the heat accordingly), stirring constantly, until the garlic and shallots are golden brown, 5 to 8 minutes.
4. Add the chicken, increase the heat to medium, and cook, stirring and breaking up the chicken with a potato masher or rubber spatula, until only traces of pink remain, 2 to 4 minutes. Add the reserved basil—fish sauce mixture and continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the chicken is no longer pink, about 1 minute. Stir in the remaining 1 cup basil leaves and cook, stirring constantly, until the basil is wilted, 30 to 60 seconds. Serve immediately, passing the extra fish sauce, sugar, vinegar, and red pepper flakes separately.