This Thai Basil Chicken is a healthy, Thai-influenced dish that isn’t too spicy and has lots of texture, with the moist chicken and crunchy cashews.
Thai Basil Chicken
This Thai Basil Chicken is a healthy, Thai-influenced dish that isn’t too spicy and has lots of texture, with the moist chicken and crunchy cashews.
Ingredients
- chicken breast
- red pepper
- a fresh chilli
- a dab of chilli bean paste
- ginger
- garlic
- lemon grass (dried is fine)
- sesame oil
- dark soy sauce
- baby limes
- fresh basil (handful)
- cashew nuts
Instructions
- Mash together a clove of garlic, a wedge of ginger, a chilli, the zest of half the baby lime and some sesame oil into a paste. Cut the chicken and mix it into the paste. Leave in the fridge for a little while to let the paste flavor the chicken.
- Heat some oil in a wok. Soften up some chopped red peppers and add the chicken. Move it about a bit, then add a dab of chili bean paste and a dash of dark soy sauce – not too much as you don’t want to darken the color of the dish. Add a couple of stalks of lemon grass. Season with a little salt and white pepper.
- Add chopped garlic and the cashew nuts. Toss it about a bit for another minute or so. For a saucier dish, you can add half a cup of chicken stock before this step.
- Remove the lemon grass stalks. Turn off the heat and scatter over some roughly-torn basil leaves. Don’t let the basil “cook” as it will go dark and not look good..
- Plate up, squeeze over a little of the lime and serve. Optionally drizzle some chilli oil for a bit more fire.
Notes
Feel free to use as much or as little of each ingredient as you like.
