This spicy basil chicken stir fry (Thai basil chicken stir fry) is a delicious and easy spicy chicken stir fry that is on the table in 30 minutes. This entire dish is made in one skillet for easy clean up and the sweet, salty and spicy flavors are out of this World. Serve it with a side of fluffy basmati rice for a complete meal everyone will love.
Making a stir fry with basil may not be something you thought to do trust me it is amazing. This spicy chicken stir fry is really a Thai chicken stir fry but instead of using Thai holy basil we are using regular Italian basil.
I am all about recipes that use ingredients everyone has access to and this spicy chicken stir fry is just that. If you can find Thai basil that is great too!
Ingredients you will need
- Chicken breast into very thin strips
- Fresh basil. Lots of it!
- Brown sugar.
- Sambal chili paste. You can substitute with red pepper flakes if you do not have this.
- Red bell pepper. Very thinly sliced.
- Yellow onion. Thinly sliced.
- Fresh garlic.
- Soy sauce.
- Chicken stock. If you do not have chicken stock, you can use a chicken bouillon cube added to water.
For this chicken and basil stir fry, it is all very simple ingredients that you probably have already in your pantry and fridge. The one item I always have that some of you may not and is in this recipe is Sambal chili paste.
If you do not have this on hand, don't worry. There are great substitutions for it that you can use.
My favorite substitution for this are red pepper flakes (the fresher they are, the better for heat level). You can also use fresh hot peppers like jalapenos or serrano peppers.
Just make sure to finely dice them so that no one ends up with a large mouthful of them when eating the stir fry.
How to Make Thai Basil Chicken Stir Fry
The first thing you are going to do when making this Thai chicken stir fry is prep all of the ingredients. You will need to slice the chicken breasts very thin along with the peppers and onion.
Having all the ingredients sliced thin and uniform in size will ensure that all of the ingredients in the stir fry cook fast. The prep portion of this recipe will take the bulk of the time in preparing this stir fry.
The cooking goes really fast!
Once all of the ingredients have been prepped, the cooking portion of this recipe happens really fast. This is because everything is cooked over a medium high heat the way a stir fry should be cooked.
You start by browning the chicken on both sides then removing it from the pan. In the same pan you sauté the onions, red peppers and add the chili paste.
Once the peppers and onions are done cooking you will add the chicken stock to the pan and scrape down all the good flavor left on the pan from sautéing the meat and veggies. This is lots of flavor so don't skip doing this step.
Now you add the cooked chicken and fresh basil to the pan and toss for about 1 minute. The fresh basil gets added at the very end so it keeps it color a little bit but still has time to cook down in the dish and flavor it.
You will get the whole pieces of basil in almost every bite!
This chicken with basil stir fry is so delicious and makes the perfect quick meal that everyone will love!
Spicy Chicken Stir Fry with Basil
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Ingredients
- 3 boneless chicken breasts cut in half lengthwise and then cut into thin strips.
- 1 medium yellow onion sliced thinly
- 1 red bell pepper sliced thinly
- 6 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1 cup fresh basil not packed down
- ¼ cup chicken stock
- 3 tablespoon Low sodium soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon Sambal chili paste or red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
Instructions
- In a large saute pan (or wok) over medium high heat, add vegetable oil and chicken and sauté chicken strips until lightly browned making sure each piece of chicken is making contact with the pan. You may need to do this in batches depending on the size of your pan.2 tablespoon vegetable oil, 3 boneless chicken breasts
- Remove chicken from the pan on to a plate when cooked and set aside.
- In the same pan, add the onions, garlic and peppers and cook until they are lightly browned, about 2 minutes.1 medium yellow onion, 1 red bell pepper, 6 cloves garlic
- Add the chili paste and cook for a few seconds.2 tablespoon Sambal chili paste
- Now add the chicken stock, brown sugar, soy sauce and mix well scraping up all the brown bits on the bottom of the pan.¼ cup chicken stock, 2 tablespoon light brown sugar, 3 tablespoon Low sodium soy sauce
- Simmer for a couple minutes to reduce the sauce a little.
- Reduce heat to medium and add back the chicken and mix together.
- Now add the fresh basil and mix it in well and cook for 1 minute.1 cup fresh basil
- Taste for any additional seasoning. You can add more soy sauce at this point of you prefer.
- Serve over white rice and enjoy.
Nutrition
Nutrition Values are estimates only.
See full nutrition disclaimer here
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