This recipe is quick and flavorful. It also comes together quickly, so make sure to prep everything in advance. If you are serving with rice and/or a fried egg be sure to prepare those first. I will usually start the rice then prep the ingredients, and then fry the egg in the pan I will be using for the dish. When slicing the basil leaves I layer about a half inch of leaves, roll them up lengthwise into a cigar shape, then slice like a baguette. Since this is cooked on high heat, it is important to stir constantly. Things should stick to the bottom of the pan as they will be deglazed near the end and add flavor, but the ingredients should not burn too much.
Timings
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 10 minutes
Total: 20 minutes
Equipment Notes
- A wok is useful for this, but a 3qt sauté pan (10in diameter with high sides at least 3in) will also work.
Ingredients
- 2T avocado oil or other high-heat oil
- 1 egg per person (optional)
- 4 dried Thai chilies (optional)
- 1lb dark chicken meat, chopped well to a similar size to the consistency of taco meat
- 1/4C sliced shallot (about 1/2 a shallot)
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2T diced hot pepper of your choice e.g. jalapeño
- 1C thinly sliced basil leaves
Sauce
- 1/3C chicken stock
- 1T soy sauce
- 1T oyster sauce
- 2t fish sauce
- 1t white granulated sugar
- 1t light brown sugar
- 1t corn starch
Instructions
- Combine the sauce ingredients and mix well.
- Heat the avocado oil in a wok or saucepan to high. If frying eggs, bring to medium heat, cook the eggs for a few minutes and remove, then increase the heat to high until the oil starts to smoke.
- Add the chicken and optional dried Thai chilies, and cook for 2 minutes stirring and breaking the meat apart constantly.
- Add the onions, garlic, and peppers, and cook for 2 minutes stirring constantly.
- Stir the sauce and add about 2T of it to the pan and cook 1 minute only stirring a couple times to allow the sauce to caramelize and stick to the bottom of the pan.
- Add the rest of the sauce and cook for 1 minute stirring constantly and scraping off anything sticking to the bottom of the pan.
- Keep the pan on the stove but turn off the heat and add the basil stirring for about 1 minute if not adding eggs or 30 seconds otherwise.
- Remove the pan from the stove. If adding the optional, precooked eggs, place them on top, cover, and let rest for a minute or two to warm them.