Dinner · 20 min · thai

Thai Basil Chicken

✓ USDA-verified nutrition data

Ingredients

• 6 oz Ground chicken
• 1 cup Thai basil
• 1 cup Green beans
• 1 tsp Fish sauce
• 1 tsp Soy sauce
• 1 Chili

Steps

1. Prep everything before you turn on the heat: mince the chili, trim the green beans and cut them in half, and strip the Thai basil leaves from their stems. This dish cooks in under 10 minutes, so there is no time to chop mid-cook.
2. Heat a wok or large skillet over high heat for about 2 minutes, then add a tablespoon of oil and swirl it around. The pan is ready when a drop of water sizzles and vanishes instantly.
3. Add the ground chicken and press it into a flat layer, letting it sit undisturbed for 2 minutes so it develops a browned crust. Break it into crumbles and cook 3 to 4 more minutes, until no pink remains anywhere.
4. Toss in the green beans with the fish sauce and soy sauce, and stir-fry 3 minutes. The beans should turn bright green and stay crisp-tender — they will keep softening off the heat, so pull them early.
5. Taste a bean and adjust: more fish sauce for saltiness, a pinch of sugar if it tastes too sharp. A beginner tip: add fish sauce a teaspoon at a time, since you cannot take it back out.
6. Turn off the heat completely and fold in the whole cup of basil leaves, stirring until they just wilt. Serve immediately over rice while the basil is still fragrant — reheating cooked basil turns it bitter.

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