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!
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!
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!
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!)
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.
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
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Pad Thai – truly just like takeout!
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Starters – Chicken Satay and Thai Fish Cakes
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Pad See Ew – Thai stir fried noodles
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Browse the Thai recipe collection
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Thai Chilli Basil Chicken
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
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:
Nutrition Information:
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.
Very happy with the recipe. I bought Serranos to substitute the peppers. My fridge seem to have eaten them so I made mine without peppers and it was bomb with a little bit of Sriracha on top!
This dish was a huge hit at my house. I served it with basmati rice and green beans. It had just the right amount of heat too. By doubling the recipe, it JUST fed my family of 4. Next time I’ll probably do 2.5x. I’ll be making this again!
Hi Nagi,
I love Thai food. I wanted to be able to make a Thai dish for so long. Your recipes are the best. Better than all these Thai cook books I have. Thank you so much. Heinz
SO yummy!!! Quick, easy & delish!!! We don’t have many decent Asian restaurants where I live so I love recipes where I can make my own (and tastier) take out. I too also added red bell pepper for some extra veg and color. Thanks Nagi!!!
This was great! I did add a bit of slivered red bell pepper (capsicum) and white onion (since I was out of green onion) but didn’t deviate from the recipe otherwise. The Holy Basil has a very distinct flavor, and worth it if you can get it, but Thai basil is also quite nice in this dish.
Love this recipe. I think in the ingredients list you mean to say a bunch of green onions, not just one.
Started making this thinking I was making RTE’s Cashew Chicken Stir Fry (also yum), so improvised for my cashew-addict hubby. I also just used reg sweet basil. Why? Because I’m lazy. So delish+++ Thanks Nagi
Thanks! N x
I absolutely LOVE this recipe. Something I really appreciate about Nagi is that she always gives you good ideas for substitutes. I do heaping measurements and use a splash of lime juice and sprinkle of red pepper flakes on top. I’ve never been able to get my hands on Thai basil so I’ve always used regular basil but I think it’s really delicious still!
Thanks! N x
Hi – I guess its ok to use dried chillies instead of fresh ? Where I live its a bit tricky to consistently get them fresh.
Excellent recipe from start to finish. I put a fried egg on top and it was a great addition.
Just beautiful Nagi. We are lucky enough to have an abundance of Asian grocers in our neighbourhood do sourcing holy basil was eas.y. The flavours were amazing and served with sliced cucumber on the side.
Great recipe. I used to make this dish many years ago and forgot how easy and tasty it was (also lost my other recipe). This is the perfect replacement, A very quick and delicious stir-fry with good tips. And, please nobody substitute dry basil for the fresh. Fresh is a must to get a flavoursome dish. Sorry if you mentioned this already Nagi.
Sensational great taste thanks.
You’re so welcome David!! N x
This was SO good…I was looking for a recipe to use the lovely Thai basil I’m growing and this was perfect. Will definitely be making this more often, at least as long as my basil lasts!
Not that you need another positive review, but to refute the recent one…..I used 2 lbs chicken breast because we had it and prefer it in any Thai chicken dish, a Japanese eggplant from the garden because I had it, thai basil that I am growing in a pot on the patio.
This is the bomb. The sauce is absolutely excellent and right on! The flavors overall are great with the basil leading the way! Family loves it and I will put this on monthly rotation.
Maybe the recent critic didn’t really have thai basil. That is key and available even here (Detroit Metro) at a good Asian Grocer. Thank you!
normally love all of your recipes but this one lacked depth of flavor. very bland, sauce was very thin. we ended up adding pre-made thai green curry paste to give this more flavor.
Hi Maude, sorry you didn’t enjoy this one, I love food with big bold flavours and this one is NO exception – it definitely shouldn’t be bland. If the sauce was thin, sounds like you may have not cooked it down enough – did you change any of the ingredients in the recipe? N x
OMG! This was amazing!!! Simple fresh ingredients make a stunning meal! Thanks Nagi
I think this is my favourite so far. It was easy to make. I had fresh basil from my garden and some zucchini, so I added that. This can be so versatile. Thanks again for the recipe
Sounds perfect Suzy!! N x
Nagi, this was lovely! I’ve been a long time eater of your recipes, my mother makes them all the time! First time trying, it was so easy and yum! I added capsicum to use a spare I had and LOVED IT! New favourite recipe!
Hi- Great flavors, thank you. I think if I want to scale this I would like more chicken in the recipe. Any advice for the best way to scale the sauce?
Hi Michael, if you click the servings and scale up, all the ingredients will scale up for you! N x