Thai Chicken Basil (Pad Ga Pow Gai)

Chicken Basil, or Pad Ga Pow Gai, is one of the classics of Thai food and is surprisingly easy to make. It is one of those dishes that fit squarely in the category of best-bang-for-your-buck. Not only it is a cheap dish to make, it is incredibly satisfying, and takes almost no time to make. It is also a great dish to learn and it gives one a good lead into understanding Thai cooking.

Instead of chicken (Gai) you can use pork (moo), or beef (neua), which will of course change the name of the recipe. Optionally you can use bite sized pieces instead of ground meat. You can substitute an equivalent amount of sliced onions for the shallots. If you don’t have fish sauce (Asian fermented fish seasoning) then substitute an additional 1 Tbsp. of oyster sauce. Instead of Thai chillies you can substitute serranos chilli, jalapeños or other small hot chilli peppers, julienned (cut into thin strips). The addition of fresh chillies makes the dish spicy, but you may adjust the recipe to taste by adding fewer chillies.

Chicken Basil (Pad Gra Pow Gai)

• 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 1-5 Thai chillies minced with seeds
• 1/2 small onion sliced
• Chicken thigh meat (as much as you want!)
• 2 Tablespoon fish sauce
• 2 Teaspoon brown sugar
  
• 2 Teaspoons black soy sauce
• Pinch of white pepper
• 3 sprigs of Thai Holy Basil, stems remove

Egg cooked over-easy or over-medium (optional)

Heat a wok or a cast iron skillet over medium high heat until very hot. Add the oil, garlic and chilies and stir fry until the garlic is very fragrant. Add the onions and continue stir frying until the onions have wilted. Add the ground chicken and fry until the chicken is cooked.

Add fish sauces, black soy sauces, sugars and white pepper. If your pan was hot enough you should not have any liquid at the bottom of the pan, but if you do, continue cooking until the liquid is gone. Add the basil and toss a couple of time until the leaves are wilted and bright green.

Serve the basil chicken with jasmine rice and an egg on top of each plate.

Notes:

This dish is usually made with either Thai Basil or Sweet Basil depending on which is in season. If you can find the Thai Basil (also known as Holy or Hot Basil), it is more flavorful. The bottom line is the dish should be a balance between salty and spicy with a hint of sweetness.