Thai Basil Chicken (Pad Kra Pao)
Ingredients
1 lb chicken (approx. 3 cups, diced boneless dark meat or ground chicken)
½ cup yardlong beans (or green beans)
3 cloves garlic (approx. 1 tablespoon)
1-2 shallots (approx. ¼ cup)
2 birds eye chili
1 cup Thai basil (leaves only, approx. 1 cup) or Holy Basil
Thai Basil Chicken Sauce:
1 ½ tablespoons fish sauce
1 ½ teaspoons dark soy sauce
1 ½ tablespoons oyster sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
1 ½ tablespoons water
Directions
Mix all the Thai basil sauce ingredients together into a small bowl and set it aside for later.
1 ½ tablespoons fish sauce,1 ½ teaspoons dark soy sauce,1 ½ tablespoons oyster sauce,2 teaspoons sugar,1 ½ tablespoons water
Mince the garlic and chilies finely and set them aside for later. Dice the shallots (or small onion) and set them aside
Cut off the tips of the beans (the stem side) and discard them. Cut the yardlong beans (or green beans) into small bite-sized pieces.
You will only need to use the Thai basil leaves for this dish, since the stems are usually tough and woody, so rip off all the leaves and set them aside and discard the stems.
If you’re not using minced or ground chicken, dice the chicken into small ½ inch pieces and set it aside. Cook Everything in a Very Hot Pan or Wok.
You want to make sure you are setting your stove to high heat because this is a very quick stir fry and you don’t want your chicken to ‘steam or sweat.’ in the pan.
Add a few tablespoons of oil once the pan is hot.
Add the shallots and chicken into the hot pan and cook the chicken until it is fully cooked.
The time it takes will vary depending on your stove’s power and the pan’s thickness, whether you use a frying pan or a wok. It took about 5 minutes for me to fully cook it on a gas stove with a thick carbon fiber frying pan.
You may also notice that your chicken may release water, and that’s okay! This usually happens if your heat is not high enough or if you use ground chicken since it tends to have more water in it.
To remove the excess water, you just need to cook it for longer until all the water evaporates, and you are only left with browned chicken.
Once your chicken is fully cooked, add in the garlic, yardlong beans, birds eye chilies, and sauce and cook it for about 3 minutes until the green beans are fully cooked but still have a bit of a crisp crunch.
Turn off the heat, and then mix in the Thai basil leaves. Keep mixing everything until the basil leaves wilt.
Serve over white rice with a fried egg, and enjoy!
