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
Pad Thai – truly just like takeout!
Starters – Chicken Satay and Thai Fish Cakes
Pad See Ew – Thai stir fried noodles
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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.
Just made this for me and my partner, was delicious! I highly recommend trying this recipe…
Thanks so much for the feedback Nathan – N x
My partner and I made this today and we absolutely love it! A new fave!
Rave reviews from the husband, I did add more of the sauce ingredients because I like it saucier to soak into the white rice. Really delicious and simple for a midweek meal, will add more random veggies next time.
Yes you could definitely add any veggies you like to it, I’m so glad it was a hit Chi!
Hey Nagi, thanks for the recipe. Made this tonight and it was fantastic. Will do it again. Keep up with the great recipe videos AND DOZER!
Thanks for the great feedback David!
I love your face- your smile.
I will make the Thai chilli basil Chicken and know that it will be lovely!
I hope you love it Toni!
This is an absolute winner! I’ve made this exactly as mentioned and then again with added veges and double the sauce. Both times tasted like what you would get at a restaurant.
That’s so great to hear Cathy!
Hi Nagi. Have you ever came across “cinnamon basil”? I checked my Asian grocery store for Thai basil and holy basil but this is what I saw they had instead. Can this be used instead?
This is a first for me, Amanda! According to Wikipedia though, “cinnamon basil” can be another name for Thai basil. If it smells and tastes aniseedy, it probably is. –Nx
Delicious! Thanks for sharing the recipe! Turned out better than many restaurant versions. I added extra red and green peppers I had in the fridge. Did not have oyster sauce so made a substitute by mixing about 2:1 ratio of Hoisin Sauce:FIsh Sauce and skipped the extra sugar. Worked out great!
I’m so glad it worked out for you Peggy!
Thank you Nagi, I love this meal, it is really simple to make and tastes delicious.
I add one bit of star anise to the sauce to give it the holy basil flavour, (just because I like it) and I add cubed courgette at the end to add some green veg (again, because I love it)
Finger licking good!
Wahoo! Thank you – N x
This was easy and a huge hit – thank you!
Terrific Gigi!!!
Hi Nagi, I am trying to add more veggies into my kids diet and was wondering if you have already done this and, if so, are their any particular groupings of veg that work best together – any suggestions are truly appreciated. Also, if you were preparing this on the weekend for a few days later, would you cook the whole recipe and then fridge it and reheat a few days later. Or, would you cook the chicken and veggies separately and then add them together on the night? Thanks so much for all your assistance. It’s truly appreciated.
Hi Tina! To cram more veg in, I would use more Asian vegetables 🙂 In terms of preparing ahead, what I do is prepare the ingredients then cook it fresh because it does cook fast!!
Nagi I would love to try this. My only problem is that Thai Basil is not available easily. In fact I did some research and it is not available at all. But normal basil leaves are available and also HOLY basil (Tulsi in hindi) is easily available. how do I get that thai flavour. Please help! 🙁
Delicious Nagi!!!! Really enjoyed this dish, easy to make and not time consuming
Glad you enjoyed this Kimberly! Thank you for letting me know! N x
I had this last night – super easy & quick to make, and really yummy. Will be doing this one again soon.
I LOVE HEARING THAT!!!!!! N xx
Absolutely delicious and so quick and easy. It’s now a weekly staple in our house, thanks for sharing the recipe.
I’m glad you enjoyed this Orla! Thank you for letting me know 🙂 N x
Made it tonight with our own Thai Basil…we grow about eight different herbs and lettuces in the house using AeroGardens, and I made sure we were growing Thai Basil. Next round I’m going to ask that we skip the curly parsley and do double the basil!
Hi,
I cooked Thai Chilli Basil Chicken, but could only find Thai Basil in my local fresh markets rather than Holy Basil but the recipe turned out fabulous, so full of flavour. My family has asked for this meal to be served every week !! We love foods with plenty of flavour but also full of freshness, this hits the spot, they too have also said it was even better than our local Thai restaurant. I was so pleased it turned out fabulous now I can’t wait to cook more meals from your other recipes.
Thank you for the free recipes 🙂
That’s great to hear Cheryl!! Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed it! N x
Hi Nagi, I am now an avid follower of your recipes. Could this Thai Chilli Basil recipe be used for beef. If so which cut of beef. Thanks
Nagi,
thanks for the recipe. Believe it or not, I couldn’t find a decent Thai place where I live and I used to love it while I lived in the city and Chatswood. Out of sheer necessity I decided to cook it myself, and it was amazing.
I would have left the seeds in the chilies as I like my food a bit hot. Also, the missus thinks some of the restaurants also add beans, what do you think?
Once again, thanks for the recipe.
I LOVE hearing that Rajesh! Thanks so much for letting me know! N xx
Hi, could you use quorn pieces as a chicken substitute? I don’t really like tofu
Yes you certainly can!
I recently made the chicken with cashews and aside from making the mistake of using my standard Chinese ‘light’ soy sauce and, therefore, making it quite salty, I loved the results from velveting the chicken with baking soda. Is there a reason why you don’t use the same process in this recipe?