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Home Cuisines Thai Recipes

Thai Basil Chicken

By:Nagi
Published:28 Sep '19Updated:28 Jun '20
250 Comments
Recipe v Video v Dozer v

Thai Basil Chicken is arguably the gold standard of Thai Chicken stir fries! An incredibly fast and easy Thai recipe that truly tastes just as good as you’ll get at your favourite restaurant, served over jasmine rice. BONUS: No hunting down unusual ingredients!

If you’re feeling inspired, indulge in a Thai banquet at home with Chicken Satay Skewers, Thai Fish Cakes, Thai Green Curry or Red Curry, and Thai Fried Rice!

Close up of Thai Basil Chicken in a wok, fresh off the stove ready to be served

Thai Basil Chicken

Wowser. I LOVE Thai Basil Chicken. Just looking at these photos and writing up this post has me peeved that I’ll shortly be reheating leftovers instead of firing up the wok. (That’s a nice insight into the immaturity that is me.)

This is a recipe I got from the mother of a friend way back when I was in uni. Obviously, a Thai friend!

And it’s one of the few recipes that I haven’t tinkered with at all. I usually can’t help it – even recipes from well respected chefs. But this one – it’s perfect as it is. It is truly just like what you get at (good) Thai restaurants and on the streets of Thailand!

Thai Basil Chicken served over Jasmin rice in a blue bowl, ready to be eaten

What you need for Thai Basil Chicken

Here’s what you need for Thai Basil Chicken. The really nice thing about this Thai recipe is that you can get everything you need from the grocery store – at least, you can here in Australia!

What goes in spicy chilli Thai Basil Chicken

Best substitute for Thai Basil

The best substitute for Thai Basil is normal basil. While it lacks the slight aniseed flavour that’s distinctly associated with this Thai dish, it is still very much worth making!

Thai Basil

Thai Basil is a key ingredient in this recipe, being the namesake and all. 😂

Thai Basil tastes like normal basil with a hint of aniseed flavour. Nowadays it’s fairly widely available in Australia in large grocery stores and green grocers (Coles, Woolies, Harris Farms).

In actual fact, the authentic version of Thai Basil Chicken is Thai Holy Basil which is different to Thai Basil. It’s actually quite hard to find even in Thai stores, so much so that most Thai restaurants just use ordinary Thai Basil and it’s the flavour that most people have become accustomed to.

Here’s a photo showing the difference between holy basil and Thai Basil.

In the video and photos, I’ve used Thai Holy Basil. (Sydney-siders, I found it in the dark depths of a Thai grocery store in the city, I had to ask for it and the store owner got it from the back!)

Difference between Thai Basil and Thai Holy Basil - Thai Basil tastes like normal basil with a slight aniseed flavour. Holy basil has jagged edges and it does not have an aniseed flavour, it tastes more like Italian basil.

Thai Basil Chicken is often overly saucy when you get it from mid-standard restaurants outside of Thailand.

This recipe sticks more to the traditional way of cooking it with enough sauce to coat the stir fry and to soak the rice a bit (enough!). But not so much sauce that when you dish it up, it’s sitting in a pool of sauce which frankly is too salty and unnecessary because the flavours of this dish are so strong, you don’t need all that sauce.

Close up of Thai Basil Chicken served over Jasmin rice in a blue bowl, ready to be eaten

Serve this over Jasmine rice or any other rice of choice. If you want to add a fresh side, try this Asian Slaw – it’s a great all rounder that goes with all Asian foods. Or for a simpler option, just add a side of plain chunks of tomato and cucumber which is a common side that’s added to plates in Thailand.

As with all stir fries, this Thai recipe moves super fast once you start cooking – about 5 minutes. So if you can get the chopping done in 10 minutes, you’ll have dinner on the table in 15 minutes.

Hey! That’s faster than ordering home delivery! – Nagi xx


Watch how to make it

 

More Thai takeout favourites

  • Pad Thai – truly just like takeout!
  • Thai Red Curry and Green Curry
  • Massaman Curry
  • Starters – Chicken Satay and Thai Fish Cakes
  • Thai Fried Rice
  • Pad See Ew – Thai stir fried noodles
  • Browse the Thai recipe collection

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Close up of Thai Basil Chicken in a wok, fresh off the stove ready to be served

Thai Chilli Basil Chicken

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 5 mins
Total: 15 mins
Stir Fry
Thai
4.98 from 77 votes
Servings2
Tap or hover to scale
Print
Recipe video above. Right off the streets of Thailand, made in your own home! Spicy, garlicky and savoury with a hint of sweet. Gold standard Thai chicken stir fry, quick to make and no hunting down unusual ingredients.

Ingredients

  • 225g / 7oz chicken thigh fillets , skinless boneless, cut into bite size pieces
  • 1 green onion , cut into 4cm / 2" lengths.
  • 1 cup Thai basil leaves , loosely packed (Holy Basil if you can find it) (Note 1)
  • 2 garlic cloves , large, finely chopped (Note 2)
  • 1 birds eye or Thai chilli , deseeded and finely chopped
  • 1 1/2 tbsp oil (peanut, vegetable or canola)

Sauce

  • 2 tsp oyster sauce
  • 1 tsp light soy sauce (Note 3)
  • 1 tsp dark soy sauce (or all purpose) (Note 3)
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 2 tbsp water

Serving

  • Steamed jasmine rice

Instructions

  • Put Sauce ingredients in a small bowl and mix to combine.
  • Heat oil in wok or pan over high heat.
  • Add garlic and chilli and cook for 10 seconds. Don't inhale - the chilli will make you cough!
  • Add the white part of the green onions and chicken and fry until cooked, around 2 minutes.
  • Add Sauce and cook for 1 minute until the water reduces to make a thick glossy sauce.
  • Toss through green part of green onions and basil leaves. Stir until just wilted, then serve immediately with steamed jasmine rice.

Recipe Notes:

1. Holy Basil is the type of Thai basil used in the authentic recipe. It has a more aniseedy / peppery flavour than normal sweet basil used in Italian cooking, and is available at some Thai groceries.
Thai Basil is the more common type of basil that is sold at supermarkets here in Australia (Coles, Woolies, Harris Farms) and used in Thai restaurants.  Because my closest Asian store is a trek away, I usually make this with Thai Basil.
If you can't find Thai or Holy Basil, this is still totally worth making using normal basil. The sauce has a strong flavour and dominates, the basil is the fragrant accent flavour.
2. Garlic - Finely chopping the garlic rather than minced it (or using jarred garlic) stops it from burning quickly and spitting when it hits the hot wok.
3. Soy sauces - can sub light soy sauce or both the light and dark soy with ordinary all purpose soy (like Kikkoman). Or can use just light soy sauce. Flavour not quite as intense as it should be and colour will be paler, but still super tasty.
Do not use JUST dark soy sauce, flavour will be too intense.
4. Serving size - This recipe makes one giant serving or 2 reasonable sized servings. Complete the meal with a simple side of juicy slices of cucumber and tomato with no dressing - this is very Thai! Refreshing accompaniment to spicy Thai food.
5. Nutrition per serving excluding rice.

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 160gCalories: 360cal (18%)Carbohydrates: 5g (2%)Protein: 19g (38%)Fat: 29g (45%)Saturated Fat: 6g (38%)Cholesterol: 110mg (37%)Sodium: 588mg (26%)Potassium: 231mg (7%)Fiber: 1g (4%)Sugar: 2g (2%)Vitamin A: 148IU (3%)Vitamin C: 2mg (2%)Calcium: 14mg (1%)Iron: 1mg (6%)
Keywords: thai basil chicken, Thai chicken, thai recipes, thai stir fry
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats.

Originally published in July 2014, updated with fresh new (better!) photos, new words, a brand new recipe video and of course I added a Life of Dozer section!

Life of Dozer

Story of his life. And mine, for that matter.

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250 Comments

  1. Mary Vranjes says

    January 26, 2021 at 12:07 am

    I have been searching for a good Chicken with Basil & I came across your site.
    I will be trying your recipe it’s looks yummy. Can I subscribe to you for other recipes

    Reply
  2. Joyslin says

    January 22, 2021 at 7:52 am

    I actually bent down to take the aroma of the chicken when it was ready.. It looked that good.

    Reply
  3. Neil Hardy says

    January 19, 2021 at 6:04 am

    We cooked this at the weekend and it was the best homemade basil and chilli we have had. We are huge Thai food fans and this is the closest I have tasted since being in Thailand, it’s even better than our local Thai restaurant.

    Reply
  4. Suzanne Brenton says

    January 6, 2021 at 2:02 pm

    4 stars
    I made this tonight. Because I used chicken and prawns and vermicelli noodles in place of rice, I doubled the measurements for the sauce.
    So glad I did as the sauce is positively delicious! Highly
    Recommend this dish if you like a bIt of heat but yummy flavour!

    Reply
  5. Maggie in NZ says

    January 5, 2021 at 4:35 pm

    Just made this into a vegetarian dish. Doubled the sauce and chucked in heaps of veggies & cashews. Soooo deelish & soooo easy. Luckily I have a Thai basil plant in my garden 🙂
    You’re a legend Nagi! Every recipe you publish is the best!

    Reply
  6. Louise G says

    January 4, 2021 at 8:13 pm

    5 stars
    Delicious! The flavours were beautiful and the speed for getting this on the table was swift. Win/win. The whole family loved it. Thanks Nagi! Two brilliant dinners in a row – this and the shredded beef chilli con carne! Hmmmm, now for tomorrow night etc ….

    Reply
  7. Jimmy Garbin says

    December 28, 2020 at 10:41 pm

    5 stars
    Wow! Move over Cashew nut Chicken. This is now my number one Nagi recipe . The Thai basil is worth hunting down

    Reply
  8. Yuliana says

    November 25, 2020 at 6:40 pm

    I’ve always been intimidated by making stir fry but this recipe was so easy, straight forward and watching the video gave me confidence that I’ll nail it and oh yes! Finally a success, thank you for the great recipe 🙂

    Reply
  9. Angela says

    November 18, 2020 at 2:37 pm

    5 stars
    I thought this dish came out delicious! I didn’t use the chili since my kids are sensitive to spicy. It smelled a bit heavy with oyster sauce, but once i added the basil, it smelled delish. The sauce is a bit on the watery side so I might try to add a bit of cornstarch to the mix next time.

    Reply
  10. MelissaD says

    November 14, 2020 at 7:26 am

    5 stars
    My family loves this recipe! It’s delicious and just like the kind you’d get in the restaurant. I’ve tried a few other Thai Basil chicken recipes and none of them come close to this one.

    Reply
  11. Elma Shaw says

    October 22, 2020 at 6:32 am

    5 stars
    Easy and delicious!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      October 22, 2020 at 9:07 am

      Thanks so much Elma! N x

      Reply
  12. Christa says

    October 16, 2020 at 9:41 am

    I made this recipe and found the sauce to be very thin and need a thickening agent and the chicken still tasted like nothing

    Reply
  13. Russ Reaves says

    October 2, 2020 at 10:23 am

    5 stars
    I grow Thai Basil especially for this recipe. Very good recipe here.

    Reply
  14. Nalini Rhea says

    September 23, 2020 at 11:43 am

    5 stars
    Amazingly good! I made it just the way the recipe is written, and this is a keeper. I met a lady in my neighborhood earlier in the day and she handed me …. guess what? …. a big bunch of THAI BASIL! I was thrilled! So I was able to make the entire recipe with authentic ingredients. Will be making this frequently, especially when I have guests over. Yippee!

    Reply
  15. Nalini Rhea says

    September 23, 2020 at 11:42 am

    5 stars
    Amazingly good! I made it just the way the recipe is written, and this is a keeper. I met a lady in my neighborhood earlier in the day and she handed me …. guess what? …. a big bunch of THAI BASIL! I was thrilled! So I was able to make the entire recipe with authentic ingredients. Will be making this frequently, especially when I have guests over. Yippee!

    Reply
  16. Jessie says

    September 22, 2020 at 11:34 am

    5 stars
    Went to my local Thai market and got the last bag of holy basil. Lucky me! Can’t wait to make this tomorrow!!!!😋

    Reply
  17. Hyasmin says

    September 19, 2020 at 11:18 pm

    I love, love the perfectly balanced taste! And so easy no fuss prep!

    Reply
  18. Kat says

    September 9, 2020 at 1:22 pm

    5 stars
    Amazing as always, Nagi! This is my hubby’s favourite meal. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      September 9, 2020 at 7:37 pm

      You’re so welcome Kat! N x

      Reply
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I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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