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If you’re a Thai food lover, you’ll definitely love this easy Thai basil chicken! Made with simple fresh ingredients, after trying this dish you’ll agree it’s the best Thai basil chicken recipe!
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It’s Monday! You need a dead-easy, super delicious, better-than-take-out dish!? I got ya covered.
Before I get into all that is this EASY Thai basil chicken, I have to tell you about this book I’m reading. Have you heard of “Before We Were Yours
Ok, the food!
So you guys MUST know by now how much I love Thai food and curries, right!? This basil chicken is one of the easiest Thai dishes I’ve whipped up in a long time. It will take all of 15 minutes for you to make! Seriously.
It’s saucy, a little spicy, and wonderful. I make this recipe with Thai basil, but you can swap for regular basil if you can’t get Thai basil. ,
What’s the difference between Thai basil and Italian basil?
We actually grew both types of basil this summer, along with a sweet basil variety, so I got a real feel for the differences! The leaves on Thai basil (also known as holy basil) are slightly more jaggedy, and the flavour is a bit more peppery. It does make a difference when cooking Thai dishes!
Along with the Thai basil, another ingredient you might need to search a little further for is Thai green chilies; luckily, my grocery store has them, but you might not be so lucky. Feel free to use a different chili in your dish, even jalapenos. If you can find Thai bird chilies (the spicy red ones), even BETTER!
How do you make Thai basil chicken?
Gather up all of your ingredients. Whisk the sauce together in a little bowl beforehand, and dice up the chicken thighs into bite-sized pieces. You should absolutely have everything ready to go, on hand, before you start cooking (mise en place) because the cooking process GOES FAST! I usually start my rice at the same time.
As I mentioned earlier, we grew a lot of basil this year! Luckily it gave me the chance to experiment a lot with this dish, so I feel like I have it down! One thing to note – make sure you drain the liquid off your chicken after cooking it, before you add the sauce to make sure it gets nice and sticky! Sauciness and stickiness is key!
This dish has quickly become one of my favourite go-to dishes, especially since I can adjust the heat and make it kid-friendly too. We love chicken thighs around here, so this is just another awesome use for them!
Some Thai basil recipes call for ground chicken, which I think would also be delicious, but we’re partial to the whole meat chunks!
What do you serve with Thai basil chicken?
I HIGHLY recommend serving this dish with my easy coconut rice! If you’re eating low carb, I think cauliflower rice would be delicious too. Or regular rice if you’re not into the whole coconut milk thing (weirdo 😉)
And once you decide you love this quick dinner, which I know you will, you’ll have to check out my other popular Thai recipes!
Easy Thai Basil Chicken
- Total Time: 30 minutes
Description
If you’re a Thai food lover, you’ll definitely love this easy Thai basil chicken! Made with simple fresh ingredients, after trying this dish you’ll agree it’s the best Thai basil chicken recipe!
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tbsp sesame oil (sub olive oil)
- 3 Thai green chilies*
- 2 shallots, sliced thinly
- 4 garlic cloves, sliced thinly
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs, diced
- 1 cup Thai basil leaves**
- coconut rice, for serving
Instructions
- In a small dish, combine the oyster sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce and honey. Set aside.
- Heat the sesame oil in a frying pan or wok over medium-high heat on the stove. When the oil starts to shimmer, add the chilies, shallots and garlic cloves and stir fry for 2-3 minutes. Add the pepper and fry for another few minutes, before adding in the chicken and cooking, stirring often, until the chicken is browned and cooked through. If there is a lot of extra moisture from the chicken, drain it off before adding the sauce mixture. Stir to cover all the ingredients with the sauce, then add the basil, stirring until wilted. Serve immediately over rice!
Leftovers can be kept in the fridge, in an airtight container for 3-4 days.
Notes
*If you can’t find Thai green chilies you can substitute a different hot chili, or 1 jalapeno
**Thai basil can usually be found in the Asian aisle of your supermarket. If needed, you can still make this dish with Italian basil
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
We are huge Thai food fans! My daughter introduced it to us while she was living home going to grad school, and there’s been no turning back! We love it! And we’ll love this!!
So glad your daughter introduced you to Thai! I crave it all of the time! This is an awesome easy dish, I hope you guys love it!!
I’m a huge fan of Thai food, and this is something that I would love! And serving this chicken with coconut rice is the best idea. I need this for dinner!
You definitely need this for dinner, Marcie! Especially as a Thai lover. The coconut rice is a must! 🙂
I love thai, never tried this, but it sounds awesome. I just so happen to have all of it
Yay! Let me know if you try it, Mary. I think you’ll love it!
This book sounds intense and mesmerizing.This meal would me make me VERY happy!! And it’s Thai basil for me here! I’m addicted to it and can’t put enough of it into my Asian dishes.
It is INTENSE! I was a little disturbed after but it was such a good read. Yay! Glad you’re a fellow Thai basil lover. Such a fantastic flavour!! Cheers!
I love this dish – the stronger flavor of Thai basil is definitely not to miss and I love that you use dark chicken meat. Definitely will be giving this recipe a try! Note to self: grow Thai basil next year:) Pinned.
YES – I used to always buy breasts but I’m all about the chicken thighs now. So moist and flavourful! You definitely have to try growing Thai basil next year!! Cheers!
I seriously want to dive into every dish you make, this looks and sounds so yummy! I was always nervous to make Thai food-I almost always messed it up when I tried it!! I’m so thankful for your coconut rice and now this delicious Thai Basil, really looking forward to making it!
That is so so sweet of you to say, Catherine! I think you’ll love the dish, and the coconut rice is a MUST!! Cheers my friend!
I use a lot of Thai basil because sometimes it’s the only one I can find at the grocery store. It really has a lovely unique and distinct taste. Wow – I love how easy this sounds and how delicious it looks!
That’s interesting that you can only find Thai basil by you. I have a hard time finding it!! Thank you so much Terri!!