Thai Holy Basil Stirfried Chicken  (pàt gà~prao  gài ผัดกระเพราไก่)

This is one of the most popular Thai street food dishes. The chicken is stir fried with Thai holy basil, and served on top of rice with a fried egg on the side.

Ingredients

400 g chicken breast (gài ไก่)

5 cloves of garlic (grà~tiiam กระเทียม)

5 Thai bird's eye, mouse shit or scud chillis (prík kîi nǔu พริกขี้หนู)

1  tablespoon oil for frying (nám-dtaan น้ำตาล)

2 teaspoons of oyster sauce (nam man hoi น้ำมันหอย)

1 teaspoons light soy sauce (sii-íu ซีอิ)

1 teaspoon palm sugar (nám-dtaan น้ำตาล)

splash of dark soy sauce (sii-íu dam ซีอิดำ)

handful of Thai holy basil leaves (gà~prao กะเพรา)

Method

Cut the chicken into small bite sized pieces.

Rinse and peel the garlic add the chilies and pound them in a mortar and pestle.

Pick a  good sized handful of holy basil leaves off the stems.

Heat wok on high heat, and add about 1 tablespoon of oil.

When the oil is hot, add the chilies and garlic. Stir fry them for about 20 seconds until they get really fragrant, don’t let them burn or get too dry.

Add the chicken. Keep stir frying continuously. Cook the  chicken until it’s almost cooked through (about 2 – 3 minutes). If it starts to go dry, add just a splash of water.

Add oyster sauce, light soy sauce, palm sugar, and a splash of dark soy sauce. Keep stir frying for about another 30 seconds.

Toss the holy basil it into the wok, fold it into the chicken, and then immediately turn off the heat. The holy basil  only needs to cook for about 5 seconds, and it will continue to wilt and cook from the existing heat of the chicken. If you cook the basil for too long, it loses flavour and goes soggy.

Pad kra pao gai is normally eaten on top of plain steamed jasmine rice Jasmine rice (kâao-sǔuai ข้าวสวย) with a fried egg with soft yolk (kài-daao mâi sùk ไข่ดาวไม่สุก) on the side. Make sure the  rice iand eggs are cooked and ready to serve