Chicken & Basil Stir Fry - Video Recipe

This is a perfect windowsill herb garden recipe. I have always have a small herb garden somewhere nearby, either in a pot, or I'll reserve a small part of my patio garden.

I get small basil plants from the local nursery or hardware store. A basil plant only cost a few dollars and once it grows out, you can get several serving worth - a much cheaper way to go than buying an expensive bag of basil leaves from the grocery store. A farmers market is another less expensive place to find basil plants.

 Click on any photo to see larger.

You can use regular basil or Thai Basil. Both are about the same, although Thai basil has a slight mint undertaste. I see Thai basil at local nurseries too.

My Chicken & Basil Stir Fry is pungent, but not overly so. Like spinach, basil leaves shrink when cooked, and once mixed into a stir fry takes on a milder flavor.

I also add minced garlic and sliced green onion, but you can substitute cheap sliced yellow or white onion if green onion is not available, or too expensive.

This recipe is based on a Thai recipe, so the other flavors are soy and fish sauce with a little honey (or sugar.) If you cannot find fish sauce, then use easier-to-get oyster sauce. But this stir fry will taste fine without fish sauce or oyster sauce.

Usually Basil and Chicken Stir Fry has a whole spicy red chili. For this recipe you can use red pepper flakes or any spicy chili from your local market. Of course, you can leave the heat out.

I find skinless dark meat chicken on sale all the time at my local Latin market, for less than a dollar per pound. If you want to keep it cheap then you have to by it bone-in. It's not that hard to remove the bone, especially for breast meat. You could also use lean ground chicken or turkey, instead.

It's a one pan meal, and all comes together quickly, that's why I like to make a stir fry. It only takes about 10 minutes to do, and it's ready when the chicken is cooked through.

If you like fresh herbs in your entree, then try out the 99 Cent Cheap$kates latest recipe, a fragrant Chicken & Basil Stir Fry.

Chicken & Basil Stir Fry - Video

Play it here. Video runs 2 minutes, 43 seconds.

To view or embed from YouTube, click here.

Ingredients

• 2 pounds chicken - I used skinless and boneless dark meat, okay to use breast meat. Ground chicken or turkey is good substitute.
• 1 green onion - okay to use 1/4 yellow or white onion, sliced or chopped. Okay to add as much green onion as you like.
• 1 cup basil leaves - add as much as you like, to taste. You can use dried basil leaves in a pinch, try a tablespoon.
• 1 tablespoon chopped garlic - fresh or from jar.
• 1 teaspoon honey - or any favorite sweetener.
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce - okay to substitute with oyster sauce. Will still be tasty if you cannot find either one. 
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce - more or less to suit your taste.
• 1 tablespoon oil - to saute chicken.
• 1 tablespoon corn starch or flour - optional. This will thicken liquid, if you like it that way. Mix into raw chicken.
• 1/4 cup water or favorite broth - optional. Add this if you like a lot of sauce in your stir fry.

*For a little spicy heat it okay to add a 1/4 teaspoon of red pepper flakes (or less if you have a low tolerance.) Traditionally, small red hot chilis are added during sauteing. You could use any spicy chili or jalapeno. You will want to add a little at a time to reach desired spiciness.

Directions
If you are serving with rice, then get the rice going, according to package directions. It will take 20 to 30 minutes. When about half way done, you can start the Chicken and Basil Stir Fry. You can make the rice ahead of time - I usually have a cup or two of cooked rice in the freezer, that microwaves to hot in just a few minutes.

For this recipe I used skinless and boneless dark meat (It comes on sale for less than a dollar per pound, so I always have some in the freezer, at the ready.) You can use more lean, but expensive, white breast meat if you can afford it. White meat is easier to remove from the bone than dark meat.

Add oil to a medium/hot pan. For a thick sauce sprinkle in a teaspoon of corn starch or flour over chicken. Add chicken to hot pan.

Stir in garlic and mix well. Add a teaspoon of honey or any favorite sweetener.

Pour in soy sauce and fish sauce (or oyster sauce.)

Add sliced green onion or regular sliced white or yellow onion.

If you like a lot of sauce then add an extra 1/4 cup of water or favorite broth.

Continue to stir and cook chicken until done, about 3-5 minutes. Check for doneness by slicing into thickest piece of chicken to make sure there is no pink color.

When chicken is done add the basil leaves (remove any large stems.) You only need to stir fry less than a minute to soften the leaves.

Serve over rice or noodles. My Chicken and Basil Stir Fry is tasty on it's own, or serve with a fresh salad (my Thai Cucumber Salad is a quick away, here.)

Chicken Satay With Peanut Sauce

Like L.A. with its taco carts, Thailand has its own street food, and that is grilled Chicken Satay. The Chef has only been to Thailand through travel cooking shows like Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" and food websites that describe street vendor food, but he likes nothing better than pulling over to the curb to investigate what's cooking on the corner. And now the Chef brings his whisk to this corner of Southeast Asia.

Skewered Grilled Chicken Satay may be a humble dish, but it seems to be a favorite on the party circuit - I had it recently at an opening for an exhibition of movie posters at the Motion Picture Academy in Beverly Hills. Not many street vendor dishes make it that far. For your own party, The Chef will show you how easy it is to make a platter of these tender and flavorful fowl fillets.

Chicken breast and skinned, boneless leg quarters are available for 99 cents or less at local Latin markets. There is little preparation to do; just slice into strips for skewering. Chicken breasts are simple to fillet -- just slide the knife blade along the middle breast bone and see how easily the flesh separates. Dark meat is the most foolproof -- it doesn't dry out as easily as white, and works best for a party where the cooked skewer satay may set out awhile.

The chicken strips must then be marinated in a mixture of condensed milk, powdered ginger and cumin. Without bones or skin, the chicken skewers cook in 5 minutes, so you can leave the chicken marinating until the last minute for a quick grill or broil. If you are cooking ahead of time, dark meat is better; white meat tends to dry out. Either way, set aside some coconut cream for basting, to help keep cooked chicken moist while it stays covered and warm in the stove. But there is nothing better than chicken satay hot off the grill !
To make a tasty Thai-style dipping sauce, mix peanut butter into heated coconut milk or coconut cream.

This dish pairs perfectly with my Thai Cucumber Salad and Coconut Rice. Just click on the names to see my recipes.

Ingredients (serves 3-4)

• 2 whole chicken breasts - or about 2 lbs white or dark meat
• 1 can (about 11 ounces) of condensed milk - OK to substitute 13oz. can of coconut cream or milk. Reserve a tablespoon for Peanut Dipping Sauce.
• 1 tbsp. ground cumin or curry powder
• 1 tsp. ground ginger - optional

Peanut Dipping Sauce 

• 1/2 can of coconut cream or milk
• 2 tbsp. peanut butter  - I used a cheap smooth type.
• 1 tbsp. condensed milk (optional)

The dipping sauce is made by mixing coconut cream, condensed milk and peanut butter together in a saute pot. Heat and mix until blended, about 5 minutes. Set aside until serving time. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Directions
Soak bamboo skewers in water. In a large bowl add condensed milk (or coconut milk) and mix in cumin and ginger. Reserve 1/4 cup of marinade for basting when grilling. On a cutting board slice chicken into strips or cubes. If you are using whole chicken breast it is easy to slice along middle bone/cartilage to remove large fillets to cut into strips. Dark meat thighs take a bit more work; the meat does not seperate from the bone as easily, but it is the cheapest way to go. I do find 99 cent per pound boneless chicken on sale at my local Latin market once a month.

Add sliced or cubed cut chicken to condensed milk bowl. Allow to marinate an hour or more covered in the refrigerator.

Heat your grill or broiler oven. Thread chicken pieces onto bamboo skewers. This is messy, so assemble skewers on a large platter. Grill or broil for 2 -3 minutes each side for white meat; dark meat may need an extra minute more. Use extra marinade or coconut milk for basting during grilling. Because the meat has no bone, it cooks fast. It is easy to overcook so keep an eye on it. Serve with Peanut Dipping Sauce on the side or in a shallow dish.

Thai Cucumber Salad

This light, sweet salad has plenty of crunch. You can make it in a minute and serve it with your favorite stir fry recipe, or click here for a 99 Cent Chef recipe fave. The Chef's Thai salad also adds a healthy course to dorm room ramen dining.

Slice one large cucumber and a quarter of an onion, then marinate in rice vinegar and sugar - that's it. Sometimes simple is best. If you want more heft to your salad add a few wedges of tomato. You can use a sugar substitute, honey, or whisk in any organic sweetener into the rice vinegar dressing. These ingredients fit well into this cheap Chef's budget profile, so there is no excuse not eat your veggies.

Ingredients

• 1 large cucumber - sliced and half-peeled. I like to leave some skin on for color. Any bitterness is reduced by the sweet dressing.
• 1/4 onion - thinly sliced; minimizes strong onion taste some people find unpleasant.
• 1 medium tomato - optional, cut into wedges
• Cilantro - optional, a handful, chopped.
• 1/4 cup of rice vinegar - any vinegar will do.
• 1 tsp. of sugar or any sweet substitute - add a little at a time and taste dressing for desired sweetness.
• 1 pinch of salt

Directions
Mix vinegar and sugar in a medium salad bowl. Adjust sugar amout to desired sweetness. Partially peel and slice and cucumber. Thinly slice onion. Cut tomato into wedges. Mix veggies into bowl with dressing and serve.

Papaya Thai Fried Rice

Papaya is readily available at one of the Chef's favorite local Latin markets. Papayas are quite large, so along with a fresh drink using blended papaya and 99.99 cent carbonated water flavored with lime or lemon, the Chef came up with a Thai stir-fry rice dish to use up the rest of this mildly sweet Central American tropical fruit. Just peel and seed two cups of papaya and add it to sauteed Oriental flavored ground turkey or chicken, cooked white or brown rice, and a scrambled egg. It is a dish more subtly flavored than a typical Thai pineapple fried rice.

Ingredients
1 lb. 99.99 cent ground turkey or chicken- - substitutions include sliced chicken or pork
2 cups of peeled cubed papaya
1/4 cup each ketchup, oyster sauce, soy sauce
1/2 cup each chopped onion and bell pepper (optional)
4 cups of cooked white or brown rice
1 tbsp. of garlic - fresh or from jar
1 large egg
2 tbsps. of oil 
Directions
Scramble one egg in tsp. of oil and set aside. Stir fry ground turkey, garlic, ketchup, oyster sauce and soy sauce in one tbsp. of oil until turkey is done, 5 to 10 minutes and set aside. Mix rice, veggies and papaya and heat through for 5 minutes. Mix in meat and eggs. Ready to serve.