Back to the Basil

Many years ago on a trip to Chiang Mai, Thailand with my good travel buddy Larichan, we took a one day cooking class at Thai Chocolate Cookery School. The name Chocolate in the school's title, as explained to us, referred to Thai chillies as they are such an addictive, integral part of Thai cooking that they are similar to chocolate. After not being able to buy these fiery hot chillies anywhere near my current home, I could not agree more. The piercing, yet fresh heat from these chillies makes so many Thai dishes addictive and keeps my mouth watering for more. I substitute anything I have, but Thai chillies are the optimal choice for this recipe.

As part of the course fee, we received a small book containing the five or six dishes we had made, in addition to a handful of other classic Thai recipes. I have made nearly everything out of the school’s simple, no nonsense instructions and everything has turned out far better than any other Thai cookbook I have used since. My favorite from the book has always been the green curry, while FunkDaddy has always favored the Basil Chicken. Tonight he won:

Basil Chicken (modified from the original recipe, as I left my book at a friend's house and have yet to retrieve it, and we like it saucy)

1 pound Chicken, cubed
4 T oyster sauce
4 T fish sauce
4 t sugar
lots of basil leaves (about 30)
oil for stir frying
many cloves of garlic, chopped
1 to 2 small chilis (your preference for heat and kind, preferably you would use Thai chilis, but if not use what you can - I have used jalapenos, habaneros, chili flakes and serranos.)

Marinate the chicken anywhere from hours to 15 minutes before with the oyster sauce, fish sauce, sugar, and about 1/3 of the basil. Refrigerate.

Make rice.

Heat oil in a wok. Add chopped garlic and heat till you can smell it. Smash the chilis so that they are broken (just so that the juice can come out) and add to oil. Add chicken and stir fry until it is all cooked on the outside. Add the remaining basil chopped up a bit, continue stir frying 1-2 more minutes and you are done. Serve over rice. Delicious, healthy and quick.