Thai Chicken with Basil

By fuzzygroup

Ingredients

• 1 cup fresh basil leaves, tightly packed
• 2 green or red Thai chiles, stemmed
• 1 garlic clove, peeled
• 2 1/2 tsp fish sauce, plus extra for serving
• 1 1/2 tsp oyster sauce
• 1 1/2 tsp sugar, plus extra for serving
• 1/2 tsp white vinegar, plus extra for serving
• 1 8-oz boneless, skinless chicken breast, trimmed and cut into 2" pieces
• 1 shallot, sliced thin
• 1 T vegetable oil
• red pepper flakes, for serving

Preparation

Step 1

1. Pulse 1/2 cup basil, chiles and garlic in food processor until finely chopped, 10-12 pulses, scraping down workbowl as needed. Transfer 1 1/2 tsp basil mixture to small bowl and stir in 1 1/2 tsp fish sauce, oyster sauce, sugar and vinegar; set aside. Transfer remaining basil mixture to 10" nonstick skillet.

2. Without washing food processor bowl, pulse chicken and remaining 1 tsp fish sauce in food processor until meat is coarsely chopped, 6-8 pulses. Transfer to medium bowl and refrigerate for 15 mins.

3. Stir shallot and oil into basil mixture in skillet. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until garlic and shallot are golden brown, 5-8 mins. Mixture should start to sizzle after about 1 1/2 mins; if it doesn't, adjust heat accordingly.

4. Stir in chicken and cook over medium heat, breaking up chicken with wooden spoon, until only traces of pink remain, 2-4 mins. Add reserved basil-fish mixture and cook, stirring constantly, until chicken is no longer pink, about 1 min. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup basil leaves and cook, stirring constantly, until basil is wilted, 30-60 seconds. Serve immediately, passing extra fish sauce, vinegar, and red pepper flakes separately.