Spicy basil chicken

It was about a year ago, when I drove my son back to school up in Marquette, MI. I was supposed to come home that Sunday, but the weather reports made me reconsider. The forecast was for 10-12 inches of snow, with 25-35 mph winds. Nope, I wasn’t going to make a 7-hour drive in that!

I ended up spending the snowy day in Marquette. That afternoon, my son and I went out to dinner, and I ordered Spicy Basil Duck, and I really enjoyed it. 

When I arrived home the next day, I was thinking about that meal, I found I had most the ingredients. I wanted to see if I could come close to what I had in the restaurant. I didn’t have duck, but I did have some chicken breast. I also didn’t have any fresh basil, so I used dry. Still, it didn’t come out bad. Here’s what I did.

Olive oil

1 cup of chopped chicken breast

Red pepper flakes

1 tsp. dry basil

2 medium onions, cut into wedges

1-1/2 cups sliced mushrooms

1 red bell pepper, cut into strips

4 serrano peppers, sliced

5 cloves of garlic, smashed and minced

1 tbs. fis sauce

2 tbs. stir fry sauce

2 limes, cut into wedges

Preparation

Heat a large wok or cast iron fry pan until very hot. Add enough olive oil to coat the bottom. Add the chicken and sprinkle on the basil and a bunch of red pepper flakes. Stir until the chicken looses its raw color. Add the onions and stir. 

Stir the onions until they soften and add the mushrooms. Stir and let that cook for a couple minutes. Add the bell pepper and the serrano peppers. Stir for a couple of minutes. Add the garlic and sprinkle on the fish sauce. Now stir in the stir fry sauce. Squeeze on the juice from the lime wedges and stir. When it is all sizzling, sprinkle on a little more basil, turn off the heat and serve. 

Serving

To serve this improvised Thai dish, simply pile a bunch of steamed rice on a plate. Place a huge pile of this chicken stir fry next to the rice. Dribble a little soy sauce over the rice. Slice some homemade bread and pour a glass of chilled Riesling wine. 

I still want to try this with lots of fresh basil, and some duck breast, but, all in all, it came out pretty good.