Chicken & Thai Basil Stir Fry

When it has been a long day at work, sometimes you just need a quick recipe that can feed an army, and warms you through. The wonderful combination of crisp vegetables, creamy coconut, with the zing of chilli and umami of fish sauce fits this bill to a tee. In 20 minutes you can be curled up on the couch, holding a steaming bowl of rice and this stir fry, and the world will seem a better place.

The nature of stir fry is a quick action to seal all the goodness in the meat and maintains the nutritional value of the vegetables. There is no rule on what vegetables to use - what ever is in season or at hand. I love snow peas, baby corn, bok choy, bean sprouts, porcini mushrooms and the colour of red capsicum - so I have used them all.

I have used my well loved wok to cook this dish. I have owned this wonderful, and frankly, indispensable, piece of cooking equipment for close to thirty years. It is made of carbon steel and has two handles - this makes it easy to handle and move food quickly. This style is common in Southern China. My wok has a flat bottom - designed to sit better on western stoves. You can also get woks made of cast iron or aluminium, electric and non stick. Whatever your wok is made from, keep it well seasoned (oil it after washing, before putting it away to prevent rust). You will get many years of use from this simple tool, that is not only great for stir frys, but also for steaming, deep frying, smoking or braising.
To see how to cook this delicious stir fry, check out my YouTube clip below.

Recipe
Serves 4

Ingredients:
4 chicken thigh fillets
2 garlic cloves crushed
1 chilli, thinly sliced
2 cm fresh ginger grated
4 spring onions
1/2 capsicum
120 gm porcini mushrooms
75 gm snow peas
60 gm baby corn

1/2 bunch Thai basil
75 gm bean sprout
2 tbl fish sauce
300 ml coconut cream
Oil

steamed rice to serve

Method:
Prepare all vegetables into bite sized pieces.
Cut chicken into 2cm squared pieces.

Cook rice as per packet instructions.

Heat wok. Add 2 tbl oil. When oil starts to smoke, add half of the chicken. Toss continually to seal all the pieces.  When sealed, remove chicken and repeat with remaining chicken pieces.

When second batch is sealed, return all chicken to the wok and add chilli, ginger and garlic. Continuing to toss, add thicker vegetables - bok choy, corn, capsicum. Stir fry for 3-4 minutes.

Add fish sauce to the wok, along with spring onion and mushrooms. Add coconut cream and toss through. As sauce thickens, add thai basil and bean sprouts for the final crunch. Stir to warm through.

Serve with steamed rice.

updated June 2023