Chicken Basil
Gai Pad Gra Pow
Chicken Basil, or Gai Pad Gra Pow, is one of the classics of Thai food and is surprisingly easy to make. It is popular among Thais. When you are in a strange town and a strange restaurant, you know that you can always order Gai Pad Gro Pow and it will probably be decent.
You know you've made Chicken Basil right when the heat from the chili peppers plays just under the flavor of the gra pow and the fish sauce. Don't be afraid to use what seems like an excessive amount of gra pow leaves - they make the dish.
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 1/2 lb ground chicken
- 1-2 packages holy basil
- 4-7 Thai chili pepper, minced
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Method
Mince garlic and chili pepper together. Clean and pick gra-pow leaves from their stem. It may appear like a lot of leaves, but the leaves will shrink when cooked and this dish's flavor comes from the leaves.
Fry the garlic and chili pepper in oil over high heat. When garlic starts to turn brown, drop the ground chicken in. Stir constantly. The juice will start to come out. Keep stirring until all the juice is gone. It might take a couple of minutes. Add fish sauce. Then add Thai basil. Quickly turn it over a few times to mix the leaves with the meat and then remove from the fire and put the gai pad gra pow in the serving plate or dishes. Serve hot with rice.
In Thailand, gai pad gra pow is served with a small bowl of chili pepper in fish sauce, sliced cucumber and a wedge of lime.
Tips and Shortcuts
You can substitute ground turkey for ground chicken. Some people like the meat cut up in bite size pieces rather than ground.
In Thai restaurants in the US, unfortunately, sweet basil or Thai basil is usually used for this dish. It is not quite the same.
Many farmers markets now have holy basil.
It doesn’t stay fresh (or green) long in the refrigerator. So use the basil as soon as you can. However, if it starts to get freezer burn, it can still be used.
Step by Step
