When I lived in the states there was this killer Thai food restaurant I would eat at a couple times a week. It was close to where I worked, the prices were great, and the food was fantastic. The restaurant was a mix of Asian cuisines but my favorites dishes were always the Thai ones. The restaurant is also where I first tried Thai basil chicken, and I loved it.
Since moving away I’ve tried to recreate that spicy dish I loved to eat. Though my recreation always tasted great I unfortunately was never successful in recreating it exactly, so I stopped trying and somehow forgot about it. Fortunately I always wrote done the different ingredients I combined with my failed attempts. Recently, and before our move, I decided to give the dish one more try just so that I could share it with you.
As you can see this doesn’t look like the Thai basil chicken served at many restaurants, hence why I named my recipe differently. But just because it doesn’t look like the traditional dish that doesn’t mean it doesn’t taste fantastic — it really does! The main difference in my recipe is that the chicken isn’t minced. Another difference, and to make the dish spicier, is that I add red curry paste and of course this compliments the strong basil flavours perfectly. Additionally I like to add carrot, and it is usually shredded so I can cut down the cooking time; the carrot also adds a lovely color to the dish. Sometimes I serve this dish with steamed Jasmine rice and other times with rice noodles, it really depends on what I have in the house.
Okay, let’s get cooking!
- 2-3 skinless and boneless chicken breast cut into bite size pieces (I used 350 grams)
- 4 carrots, shredded
- 4 green onion, rinsed and cut into 6- 8 sections
- 4 cm or 1.58 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
- 3 peeled garlic cloves, minced
- 1 heaping tbsp red curry paste (adjust to taste or make your own)
- 1 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 4 sprigs of fresh basil leaves, or as much as you like
- 1 tbsp coconut or olive or any vegetable oil of choice
- 1 small pack of rice sticks or rice vermicelli noodles
- Heat the oil and once hot cook the chicken pieces until cook through. While the chicken is cooking boil the noodles according to the package instructions, usually it will require soaking the noodles in boiling water for 8-10 minutes. Drain and set the noodles aside.
- Add the minced garlic and ginger to the chicken and fry for another 2 minutes. Add the curry paste and 1 tbsp of water and mix throughly, cook for another 5 minutes.Then add the carrots and fry for a few minutes or until the carrots are soft. Add the chopped onions and fry for 3 minutes, then add the fish sauce and half the basil leaves and cook for another 5 minutes.
- You can either serve the chicken mixture over the noodles or add the cooked noodles to the pan and stir thoroughly until the noodles are well coated and mixed with the rest of the ingredients. Right before serving toss in the remaining basil leaves and serve.
The result is a spicy chicken dish with pungent basil bursts, and tones of slight sweetness added by both the carrots and onion. It may not be that dish I used to eat or even the traditional Thai recipe, but it is a scrumptious dish that satisfies every time.
I hope you give the recipe a try and see how yummy it is…If not below are more recipes using curry that you can try out. Enjoy!!
– Peppered Lemon Chicken Bites and Curried Brussels Sprouts by MJ of MJ’s Kitchen
– Curried Oyster Mushrooms with Snap Peas
– Kofta Curry – Meatballs in Tomato Gravy by Ash of Food Fashion Party
– Curry Spiced Potato and Pumpkin Empanadas
– Kev’s Amazing Grace Curry by Lorraine of Not Quite Nigella
– Indian Chickpeas with Tomatoes and Dill by Kate of Girl Cooks World
A beautiful dish! Spicy and delicately herby.
Cheers,
Rosa
Thank you Rosa!
That looks absolutely irresistible!!
Absolutely beautiful, Nancy. I was in Thailand and Vietnam earlier this year and this post makes me want Asian food. Great flavors and so clean and healthy! Thanks for a great post!
I love curry, what a mouth-watering dish!
This is a dish I use to order quite a bit and sort of forgot. I think your version is so much better, I prefer bigger pieced of chicken and thumbs up on the red curry paste. Yes I will have to plan that getaway closer to you ;-) Maybe next year though, have a fun trip in March planned.
I love eating those type of noodles. Yum!
Oh, now you have me craving Thai food really fiercely! I also have a bottle of Red Boat fish sauce I bought on a whim and I’ve been meaning to start using. Thanks for this great recipe idea!
Swoon! I havnt been able to find a decent Thai food place since Chicago. I’m trying my best to replicate a dish or two, growing my own Thai basil now. Thank you for sharing another beautiful dish!
Light yet full of flavours!
I agree absolutely beautiful..
Your phtographic skills follow you whereer you go..
This looks delicious and fresh.
I love this dish and your rice noodles really make the rest of the ingredients stand out.
When I teach a class I always tell my students if you’re making a cake and it falls, tell everyone it’s a torte. No one will ever know unless you tell them. If you’re using superior ingredients it will still taste good. So when you mentioned how you tried to recreate it and it still wasn’t the same, no one would know anyway. So as you did you gave it a new name and created your own wonderful dish.
I will be sure to try this and can’t wait to taste it.
I hope you’re settled now and enjoying the warmth and beauty of the sea and those around you.
Happy Holidays!
I so loved the photography Nancy!!! You have made the dish emote :)
Thai is one of those cuisines which so many people enjoy and I love it too.
The dish looks so tasty and your pictures are so tempting. Love it.
This looks amazing, whether traditional or not. I love spicy stuff – and your recipe looks excellent. Thanks.
What a beautiful contrast in colors! This looks very inviting Nancy.
I love that you have never given up trying to recreate the dish. Meanwhile you have probably made heaps of delicious food.
It’s the taste that counts! And this looks very tasty! Not to mention gorgeous!
Curry! <3 I love that you used noodles instead of rice for this dish. Such a beautiful shot too!
Nancy, thank you so much, I’ve never been to this part of the world, but love to experiment and will give this recipe a try this weekend.
Greetings!
This looks so wonderful Nancy. I love Thai/ Asian flavours. looks like y0ou have mastered it
You had me a curried!
You made this just for me, right… I would inhale that entire plate. LOVE THIS!!
Really enjoyed reading your blog. Your life is so fascinating. Can’t wait to read more. I love Thai Basil Chicken, this looks like something right up my alley. It’s a good thing you can make great Thai food because I’ve heard Mexican and Thai food in Europe isn’t the greatest. Those are my 2 favorites, plus Latin. :-)
http://www.honeywhatscooking.com/
Hi! Thank you for stopping by, I look forward to checking out your blog. That’s right good (or authentic) Mexican and Thai foods are extremely difficult to find in Europe. Recently there have been some better Thai restaurants, so I’m hopeful.:)
Thank you for giving this recipe another try! It does look scrumptious! Love the fresh ingredients and the perfect meal for this time of year. We all need something light and delicious! Thanks!
And BTW – thanks for including my Peppered Chicken Bites!
This looks absolutely delicious!
Thank you Rachel!