Today’s recipe of chilli basil chicken stir fry is one of my most favorite stir fry dishes thanks to the sensational aroma of basil and sharp kick of chillies!
I am trying to be a pro in stir fry dishes and after making this chilli basil chicken stir fry I am shamelessly admitting that I felt a little proud of myself! Chicken stir fry is a very popular and well-loved dish as I can see ample recipes available on net and they seemed more or less to be quite easy to pull off.
After checking out multiple recipes of stir fries, I zeroed in on this chilli basil chicken as I am an avid fan of basil because of its aroma & taste and chilies always add extra zing to any dish.
The final product of chilli basil chicken turned out to be a stunning combination and it got validation not only from my hub but also from my group of friends who loved it to bits! This chilli basil chicken stir fry proved to be a perfect crowd-pleaser which you can definitely prepare for your next party.
Basil is my new-found love and I cannot get over it. I am simply in awe of this herb for its amazing taste and aroma. When you stir fry the chicken with fresh basil leaves, the soft meat gets infused with the mesmerizing basil flavor creating the most addictive chilli basil chicken ever.
Chilies are the added bonus in this chilli basil chicken stir fry which adds the right amount of kick to make it more irresistible! You can optimize the amount of chilies in your chilli basil chicken as per your liking; but I urge you not to cut down the basil as the more basil you have, more flavorful your chilli basil chicken will be.
For me there can be no such thing called ‘too much basil’! When you stir fry your chicken with fresh basil leaves, they get wilted and cling to the chicken cubes.
Hence when you take a bite of chicken along with the clinging basil, your senses will be filled with a burst of flavors and the whole experience is beyond me to describe! You have to make this chilli basil chicken on your own and know for yourself. Trust me you won’t regret!
I had made this chilli basil chicken stir fry on a somewhat special day to treat a group of my friends. We had planned for a baking class together and that much-awaited baking session made for a perfect occasion to prepare this tasty chilli basil chicken to surprise my friends with this unexpected treat!
It was real fun to learn basic baking techniques from a pro-baker, I must say, although I am not sure how much new skill I learned that day, but all in all I had a relaxing time with friends and enjoyed baking together.
I was late for the session and everyone had to wait for me, but the reason for being late was definitely not my laziness. The main culprit was this chilli basil chicken which took more time to cook than what I had anticipated! What could I do? I couldn’t feed my friends half-cooked chicken, can I? But I guess I was forgiven for my delay when I saw them enjoying the tasty food surprise!
This chilli basil chicken stir fry is a quick one to churn out which is why I like it even more. It makes a great dinner on weeknights served with some rice. You can keep some pan sauce to drizzle over your rice or make it a dry dish to serve as an appetizer, choice is completely yours.
I made my chilli basil chicken using chicken breasts as I wanted to move things fast that day but I feel boneless chicken thighs would be a good option too as they possess more flavor.
Just chop the chicken thighs into bite size pieces and use as usual; only thing you need to keep in mind that thigh meat takes little longer to cook completely compared to quick-cooking chicken breasts. So, just adjust the cooking time accordingly and you will be all set to rock with your chilli basil chicken stir fry! Enjoy!
- Chicken – 600 gms [I used two chicken breasts]
- Fresh red chillies – 6 [if you don’t have fresh red chillies at hand, replace with 4 dried red chillies]
- Fresh basil leaves – 40
- Cornflour – 2 & ½ tbsp
- Egg – 1, beaten
- White pepper powder – ¼ th tsp
- Garlic cloves – 6, sliced
- Fish sauce – 2 tbsp
- Dark soy sauce – 3 tsp [make sure you are using ‘dark’ soy sauce for this as light one won’t give you the same result]
- Sugar – 1 & ½ tsp
- Oil – 5 tbsp
- Salt to taste
- Slice four fresh red chillies, deseed and chop. Slice the remaining two and keep aside.
- Cut the chicken into thin strips. Add cornflour, egg, salt and white pepper powder to the chicken strips and mix well.
- Heat two tbsp oil in a wok and sauté 30 fresh basil leaves till crisp [do not burn!] Drain on absorbent paper and set aside.
- Add the remaining oil in the same wok and stir fry the marinated chicken strips until crisp and almost done. Drain and set aside.
- To the same oil, add sliced garlic and four chopped red chillies. Stir fry for couple of minutes or until golden brown.
- Now add fried chicken strips, fish sauce, soy sauce and sugar. Stir fry on high heat for three to four minutes or until cooked through.
- Add the remaining fresh basil and mix.
- Transfer to a serving plate and spread the fried basil leaves on top. Garnish with the sliced red chilies and serve your chilli basil chicken warm with fried rice! Enjoy!
Great post!. I want to learn this recipe because it is very interesting. I’m sure my husband will like this very much because he really loved the white pepper. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
best stir fry recipe
This looks so good. I’ll be trying this one soon for sure! Thanks for posting!